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fatuismooches · 2 years

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OH NY GOD THE CHILDHOOD CRUSH CONCEPT BUT WITH DOTTORE 😭😭IF THAT'S OKAY?? reader is the only one who was interested in his endeavors and helped, so probably they're just as bad as him so they're partners in crime 👉👈 he's gotta have done experiments on then but they were never painful, only for them fr

♡ 𝐃𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 ♡

synopsis: When you were a child, there was a peculiar boy who seemed to never have any friends, alienated away from the others. Perhaps you could be his first one.

includes: dottore w/ gn! reader

notes: Yes yes yes, I love this! This is so very cute, thank you and I hope you enjoy this! The use of Dottore's real name, Zandik, is used mostly in this because, well... that's what he was called as a child. (And to be honest, if you're dating any of the Harbingers you have to be somewhat... you know. And I think pre-Fatui Dottore would be different when it comes to affection and such... so yea. Subby Dottore I guess?)

Childhood was something you cherished growing up in Sumeru. The pursuit of knowledge, the Akademiya, being a scholar, was something that was drilled into the heads of the young ones even from an early age. But when you were a child, you had the freedom to actually live, the ability to dream, to have fun, to run around and play freely without having to worry about all that boring stuff. So needless to say, you made sure to spend every second of your childhood the way you wanted as much as you could. You were going to have as much fun as possible! Perhaps that was why the rumors about the teal-haired boy did not make you waver in your pursuit to befriend him too much.

Despite the child being your neighbor, you didn’t really know much about Zandik, but what you did know was that Zandik’s mother was a kind woman. She always waved hi to you when you saw her and made small talk with you. Besides that, you never really thought about it further until your friends brought it up one day.

“That lady really seems to really like you, [Name].”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, she’s always nice to me. She even makes me Pita Pockets sometimes!”

“Her child is too creepy though,” your friend complained. You were taken aback by their statement.

“What do you mean?” you questioned.

“Zandik’s always just been weird. That’s why no one ever plays with him. I heard that he always wants to do these weird… um, experiments I think. There are other rumors too, but I just know the way he acts is just bizarre.”

“I feel bad for her,” another one of your friends chipped in. “It must be hard to deal with such a freak. Aren’t you his neighbor, anyway? Don’t you know this?”

You just frowned and shrugged your shoulders. You didn’t really like the way they spoke about Zandik. Surely he couldn’t be as bad as they made him out to be. Maybe he was just an introvert?

Then again, you barely ever saw Zandik before. He never played with anyone, never spoke to anyone, hell, you didn’t even know if he left his house. The most often you saw him was when you happened to be walking by and caught a glimpse of him through the windows. He always quickly moved away when he was spotted though.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Just try to stay away from him, [Name].” You nodded your head, but your mind was already made up. You were determined to find out how bad Zandik actually was.

—

You did say you were going to befriend him, but you soon realized you were not sure how to go about it. You had never met someone like him before, so your choices were limited. The easiest thing you could think of was waiting near his room’s window. It was a bit embarrassing hiding behind a tree, seemingly waiting for nothing, but soon enough you saw him take a seat near the glass. You weren’t sure what he was doing, but he looked very focused on it, and you were a bit mesmerized for a second, as this was your first real look at him. But you soon snapped out of your daze and came out from behind the tree.

“Heyyyy!” You yelled, jumping up and down, attracting his attention. Zandik’s shoulders jumped for a second at the noise, and when he looked up, he was greeted by your figure on the ground. Your expression brightened when you noticed he saw you and began to wave your hands, mouthing something he couldn’t hear clearly.

Zandik was stunned. If he recalled correctly, you were the person who lived next door. He saw you occasionally but of course, did not care much about you. So why were you here? Were you standing there the whole time? What did you want? His active mind produced many questions, but in the end, he knew what you were. Your intentions could not be different from the other children.

The boy looked at you incredulously for a moment before getting up. Your smile grew wider, oh, was he going to open the window and say something? But then he pulled his curtains shut on you, blocking your sight into his room completely. Damn it.

Well, that failed terrifically, but it was a bit stupid now that you thought of it. You sat down against a tree and tried to think of your next plan, unaware of the now slightly drawn curtain and curious red eyes peeking out of it.

—

Any other ideas you tried had failed, and you were not sure what to do. You had become aware that he was closed off, unwilling to interact with you or any others. But this had only made you far more interested in him. So, you had only one plan left - to go directly to the person who could tell you all. And so you knocked on the front door of his house, revealing a familiar face.

“Oh? Hello, my dear! What a pleasant surprise to see you, [Name]. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Hi, ma’am. You see, I, um, have a request. I need help with something.”

“Well, I’ll certainly do my best to help you then,” Zandik’s mom affirmed.

“I want to see Zandik,” you said bluntly, shocking the woman for a second. “I want to befriend him and talk to him.”

“I-I see. It’s not every day another child comes and asks for my son. He is a… peculiar case, after all, and he doesn’t like speaking to other people. Are you sure about this?”

“Please, I really do want to be his friend,” you said resolutely. Her face softened and she relented.

“Alright, my dear. I know he usually frequents this spot…” the woman gave in and gave you directions to where Zandik apparently spent much of his time.

As you made your way there, you were a bit in awe of how he managed to find such a place. You never knew this route existed until now. Soon, after a bit of trekking, you found an opening that boasted lush grass and smooth stones, with trees surrounding it in a circle. It was quite pretty. And then that was when you saw Zandik in the middle, his teal hair matching the greenery. For a moment, you pondered over how to approach him, but you did not need to think long since he spoke first.

“How did you manage to find this place?” His voice echoed throughout the clearing, letting you know that you were spotted. You tentatively took a few more steps closer, his small body getting bigger.

“I asked your mom,” you began, “and she told me I could find you over here.” He let out a sigh.

“Admittedly, I did not expect you to go to such drastic lengths. You are more persistent than the lot of them,” Zandik acknowledged, though still not looking up from the rather complicated and thick book he was reading. Then, he snapped it shut and stood up.

“So, what is the reason for your tireless pursuit? Perhaps you’ve come to ridicule me? Or are you here to see whether the rumors are genuine? Do tell, I am truly curious as to what would warrant such an extended hunt.”

You were a bit stunned at that whole statement, but you only had one thing to reply with. “I mean… it’s none of those. I just want to become your friend.”

A moment of silence passed before a chuckle broke it. Then, full-out laughter rang out, echoing throughout the forest. It was almost maniacal, and you couldn’t lie that it kind of scared you a bit, but you bit your lip and remained calm.

“Aha, hehe, why, I have not heard that one yet. How creative. I must say, they are getting better at these.” After that little outburst, Zandik returned to his previous sitting position and became absorbed in his book again. You were honestly unsure of how to react to that. Did the other kids truly pick on him that much, for him to think another wanting to become his friend was a lie? You stood there unmoving until Zandik spoke again in a dismissive tone.

“You can go now. It was amusing while it lasted,” he said disinterestedly, waving his hand. You were dumbfounded but determined, so you answered back very simply.

“No. No, I won’t leave,” you declared so firmly that the boy stiffened.

“No?”

“Yes, in fact, I’m going to come over there right now. You know I wasn’t joking in the first place?” you said rather calmly, trying to seem as serious about this as possible, taking steps toward him.

He scowled, his attention drawn from his book once again. “No, you won’t. You won’t dare to come near me,” he stated just as firmly, having recalled how the other children wouldn’t even look at him. You grinned and picked up your pace until you were only a couple of footsteps away from him, and that was when he truly realized you were not joking. Zandik hastily tried to get up to avoid you but you dashed towards him, nearly tripping as you lowered yourself to a squatting position, becoming face to face with him.

You leaned in close to Zandik’s face, your nose almost touching his. His unique, red eyes held annoyance and a variety of other negative emotions, but there was something foreign in there too, which was the reason he didn’t pull away - confusion and curiosity. You smiled.

“Well now, hopefully you finally get it into that head of yours that you are now my friend. So, why don’t you tell me about what you’re reading?”

At first, he vehemently denied your friendly advances. He’d mock you, roll his eyes at you and such, or flat-out ignore you which was what he usually did. Zandik was honestly not very welcoming, which you began to expect at a certain point. But you persisted nonetheless. You followed him around no matter where he tried to go. You’d sit close to him but not too close. You’d speak sometimes and would either be met with silence or a sarcastic remark but you began to somewhat enjoy it. You’d stretch your neck to try and read the books he always brought with him in an attempt to better understand him. Though, the day he put the book on the ground so it could be read by both of you was the day you knew you won.

Zandik would always tell you not to come back, but you always came back of course. He’d roll his eyes and scoff at your tenacity, but you came to realize that he liked it. After all, he could very well just go to another hiding place, or arrive at a completely different time if he truly didn’t want to see you. He’d never admit it, but he warmed up to you. You also learned that Zandik really liked to talk. At first, when you would ask him questions about science, he wouldn’t respond but you could see him biting the inside of his lip, restraining himself from going on a tangent. It was the first time anyone had shown any real interest in him. Zandik would ramble on about many, many things, often transferring to a new topic in the blink of an eye. Even when he spoke about less-than-pleasant things, he looked to you all excitedly to hear your thoughts. When it came to those kinds of topics you satiated him with a smile, but you always voiced your thoughts as much as possible which pleased him greatly.

Eventually, you started to invite Zandik over to your house. His mom was positively ecstatic and encouraged this behavior. And yet you didn’t do what typical children did. He wanted to do experiments. Which did not really surprise you after everything was done and said. Despite being your age, he always spoke in such an… advanced way. It was hard to describe, but he always employed these big terms and used such proper grammar and language, something that was very uncharacteristic for a child. And experimented he did. Zandik’s experiments were not limited to mixing and combining different elements but also extended to you, somehow. He wanted a strand of your hair, your eyelash, a paper with your fingerprints all over it. What he used these for, you didn’t know.

Your own parents were scholars, so even though you didn’t see them very much, they left a multitude of advanced books and texts in the house. While you had never cared for them much, Zandik devoured them with ease. Even though you invited him to your house to talk and play together, there were times he’d just take one of the books and read for the whole time, shushing you whenever you tried to speak. You had to settle for simply sitting next to him and trying to follow along, which he… surprisingly did not mind. Under his breath, he’d mutter phrases like “Khaenri’ah” and “Visions” and “ruin machines” which frankly did not make much sense to you, but you always happily entertained him.

One day, Zandik wanted to go somewhere deep in the forest. You had played around there a couple of times, but you had never entered into the depths of it, heeding the warnings of danger from the adults. Naturally, you were a bit worried and scared, but you knew that Zandik would enter with or without you, for there was no length he wasn’t willing to go to cure his curiosity. Though he would not tell you why you were making this journey, you followed him nonetheless, until you reached an area with many damaged stones and pillars. As to how he found this location, you didn’t question it.

“There it is,” Zandik said almost breathlessly. You were confused at first but then you followed his line of sight, and then you saw it. A Ruin Guard sat on the ground, unmoving. Your jaw dropped as you had never seen one of them before, only hearing about their destructiveness from others and in books.

“So you came here to look at that?”

“Indeed. But we are not merely going to look. I’m going to investigate it.”

“Huh?! But what if it awakens and attacks us?” Even though the two of you were a good distance away, you could easily tell the Ruin Guard dwarfed your tiny bodies by a great amount.

“From what I’ve read and heard, it should be deactivated. There is no need to worry,” Zandik affirmed.

“What do you mean by ‘should be’- hey, wait up!” Before you could finish your sentence, your friend had already made his way toward the Ruin Guard. You scrambled to catch up with him and soon enough you two were close to the robot. Both of you stood there for a bit, just taking in the sight until Zandik couldn’t hold back and approached the Automaton, circling around it, clearly fascinated.

Clink.

The two of you stiffened at the sound.

“Zandik… did you hear that?” He did not respond, but soon enough your question was answered as the eye of the Ruin Guard beamed awake.

Zandik could only stare in amazement as the complex machine glowed and lit up back to life. You were momentarily shocked but you quickly regained your senses and grabbed his hand to get away from there, because you two would be dead in a couple of seconds if you didn’t move. You had to literally drag him because the machine had him in an astonished stupor.

“I thought you said it was DEAD?!?!” you practically screamed at him as the Ruin Guard lowered itself to shoot missiles at you both. You managed to hide the two of you behind a small stone wall as the projectiles hit that instead. “And snap out of it!!”

“I suppose I have miscalculated.”

“You suppose?” Your voice had quieted down so as to not bring back the attention of the robot, which was now walking around the area since it had lost sight of you. “We need to leave before it spots us again.”

“No,” he disagreed. “We’ll incapacitate it ourselves.” It took you a few seconds to process what Zandik said to you.

“Are you crazy? Ah, never mind that. I already knew you were from a long time ago. But this is something far from our level!”

“I believe that we would be able to disable it.”

“Trained adventurers have died from that thing,” you insisted.

“We aren’t adventurers. We are better than them.”

“We’re children,” you deadpanned.

“Two intelligent children,” Zandik corrected you. For a second you were shocked that he called you smart, as you did not expect that sudden compliment. You always considered him the brains and you were… the supporter from the sidelines. “Furthermore, I have a plan.”

You sighed and rubbed your temples. “Fine… what is it?”

“It is quite simple. First, you will hit the eye of the Ruin Guard twice to stun it, and while it’s knocked out, I will remove the core to deactivate it.”

“...Yeah. So simple, Zandik,” you said sarcastically. “And how do you suppose I manage to hit its eye? It’s extremely tall and my aim is nowhere that good.”

“I would not have brought up this idea if I did not think you were that incapable. You are quite useful to me,” he said straightforwardly. Boy, did Zandik have a very odd way of cheering you up.

“I… well, okay then. And you know how to get the core out of it?”

“I’ve read multiple passages of these machines in textbooks. I assume I have enough knowledge to do so.”

“I’m not going to even say anything. You owe me a play date after all of this,” you pouted. Zandik rolled his eyes begrudgingly.

“I suppose I can engage in your nonsensical childish activities when all of this is over. But just for an hour,” he proclaimed. You gleefully smiled, pleased to have won him over.

You didn’t care much for the Archons or Gods but you suppose they must have been watching over you because you eventually managed to stun it. Keyword: eventually - after whole minutes of running around dodging missiles and picking up random stones along the way, while Zandik sat there waiting for the right moment. You swear he was laughing at you. And true to his word, the young boy dismantled the machine’s core, rendering it unable to operate.

“Wow… I can’t believe we actually did that,” you mentioned, still in awe of it all.

“Of course we did. I would expect or accept nothing less. Now, come here. We have work to do.”

Somehow he had brought along small tools to try and dissemble the Ruin Guard. The red-eyed boy’s intelligence had always amazed you. Although it may seem boring to others, watching him fiddle was quite interesting for you. Zandik had also apparently appointed you as his assistant without informing you until now, so you always sat next to him. You made sure to keep an eye on what he did, for sometimes he would put his hand out and expect you to pass him a tool or screw without saying anything. At the end of the day, at least you could say the two of you had feats that no other child could claim to have accomplished.

It had gotten to the point where Zandik constantly wanted your presence around him, claiming that it would do you well to join him since you had nothing better to do. (He just didn’t want to admit he craved your attention and company.) You had accepted this with no complaints, having enjoyed spending time with him far more than your other friends. But you couldn’t deny that your friends were somewhat right about their thoughts towards Zandik - he cared little for others’ lives or feelings, was interested in things others would find disturbing, and even as a child you could tell he was not too right in the head. And yet his morals being concerningly low despite still being a kid, you could not bring yourself to care much. Heh, perhaps he was starting to influence you too.

Many years had passed since the two of you were little kids. Zandik had grown into a handsome, young, man. His mother was no longer in the picture, but the two of you were still together despite it all. And as much as you wanted to end your story off with a cliche everything was well, nothing could be farther from the truth. The atmosphere of your hometown had begun to grow tense. Why, you ask? Because of Zandik. The villagers had always not been the kindest to him, never fond of his rather strange ideas, though Zandik usually brushed it off with disinterest. But as he grew older, it seemed that the town’s dislike for him grew as well. And while you were a bit worried for him, you weren’t too concerned. You were sure the two of you would leave the place one day anyway. No way in your wildest dreams did you think you’d look outside your window and see people waving around pitchforks and clubs. And if that wasn’t bewildering enough, they were pointed toward Zandik.

You never scrambled to your feet and out the door so fast in your life, rushing to your dear friend’s side. His expression was unreadable when he saw you.

“Hey. Hey! What is this all about, huh?” you demanded to the crowd.

“He has to go. He is no longer a child, and so we no longer have any reason to have to harbor him here. He is a threat to this town,” someone spat.

“He’s never even hurt you,” you argued. “He never laid a hand on any of you. It was rather you who did that!” You think you heard Zandik whisper your name quietly.

“He’s a heretic,” another voice hissed. “He and his ideas do not belong here.” The clattering of pitchforks pitched in to agree. Zandik remained silent.

You gritted your teeth. You could see there was no point in arguing anymore. “Fine. Fine then. We didn’t even like it here anyway,” you fumed. In your spur of anger, you clasped your friend’s hand and practically dragged him in the opposite direction, blocking out the boos and mockery from the rest of the town.

Surprisingly, Zandik did not say a word throughout your little journey to who knew where, until you had to take a break from the sheer exhaustion. Embarrassingly, you had to release his hand that you had kept hostage the whole time, but Zandik seemed far less perturbed than you. Perhaps he saw it coming, with how assured his next statement was.

“We shall attend the Akademiya.” Out of all the possible things he could have said, you did not expect that one for some reason.

“The A-Akademiya?”

“Yes,” Zandik said quite simply.

“I mean, it’s not a bad idea but… the people there might be…” You did not finish your sentence, but you were referring to how the place could have a good amount of judgmental “scholars.”

He laughed bitterly. “After this morning, I highly doubt anything they do shall ever bother me.” You did not know what words would console him, so the only thing you offered was an agreeing nod and your silent presence.

“They did not exile you, [Name],” he said all of a sudden.

“It doesn’t matter. Getting rid of you would be the same thing as getting rid of me. I wouldn’t stay in a place where you aren’t,” you shrugged simply, placing your pinky over his own.

Zandik did not respond, but he didn’t move away.

—

The Akademiya was… an experience, for sure. It was many things all at once, the different Darshans and the beautiful architecture, the great looming trees. And the dorms were far nicer than you expected. At least they were spending their funds decently enough. So, the two of you settled into the scholarly life relatively easily. Zandik easily climbed to the top of his classes in no time, quickly garnering the attention of others and then losing it equally as fast when they encountered his prickly personality. There were always gossip and rumors floating about, many of which proclaimed Zandik to be a madman and a monster. And while he rarely ever showed any expression to these words, besides perhaps a roll of the eyes and chuckle or a scoff, you wondered if it really did bother him. As such, everyday life for you was being known as the normal person who hung out with the weirdo.

But, the years spent in the institution were ones you cherished deeply. You were close with your friend for many years, but perhaps staying together in such close quarters deepened the relationship. The two of you would sneak out after hours to do whatever Zandik demanded to be done. You were a bit iffier about breaking rules, but Zandik was firm on not letting anyone hold him back in his pursuit, so you began to think less of it. Many nights would pass by with the two of you staying up until unreasonable hours, whether it was studying together (or more like Zandik helping you study), or listening to him ramble on about his latest ideas and inventions. The strangest times were when he made you stay up despite not speaking at all. You would blink through bleary eyes as he remained silent, the only noise the clinking of bolts and nuts. In your heart, you liked to think he just liked your presence.

But the day you found out Zandik was to be expelled from the Akademiya was one you’d never forget. You knew he had a tendency to act without permission, to turn off others with his radical ideas, so perhaps you shouldn’t have been surprised. You also had some knowledge of what happened in his expeditions with the team - almost everyone did, considering what happened with that girl - and you knew deep down what her true cause of death was. And Zandik knew that you knew too; you could feel it unspoken in his eyes when the subject matter was brought up briefly. You knew you were too far gone when you accepted it. But still, him being expelled was still a shocker. Yet the only thing he bemoaned was losing his space to work.

“It is quite literally your last night in this dorm and you’re sad about losing your progress on your experiments?” Actually, now that you thought about it, it was quite a Zandik thing to think.

“It was the only good thing about this place,” he shrugged. “It is too bad. I shall have to find somewhere else now.”

“They’re going to exile you to the desert, aren’t they?” you frowned. “That’s what they do with the expelled and mad scholars, no?” He nodded in agreement.

“You can’t go. You won’t be able to continue your kind of research there,” you argued.

“And what do you propose? That we fight them?”

“Yes! I’ll fight them! I’d ambush them or something!” you knew you sounded crazy by now but you couldn’t help it. The idea of no longer being with your childhood friend was tearing you in half. “You know, the matra stationed there keeps an eye on all of the scholars who were exiled there, in order to keep them in check. Even if you managed to escape, it won’t be easy to survive in such conditions and they could find you,” you insisted.

“Good thing you’re so eager to fight,” he chuckled. You knew what he was thinking when he laughed like that. “I have a plan.”

You raised your eyebrow. “Oh really?”

“Did you really think I’d go in there without preparation?” he scoffed. “In due time, I shall find a way to contact you.”

You sighed. “Alright, just… let me know who I have to fight later,” you responded. “And…” you trailed off, not knowing if you should verbalize your true worried feelings. He seemed to notice, and he contemplated, trying to figure out what to say.

“You need not worry about me, [Name]. We both shall be fine.” The words felt foreign on his tongue, as they were things he would never say. But he did anyway.

And that was the last you saw of Zandik. But unbeknownst to either of you, he would be visited by a special man - the first Harbinger.

—

You stood outside on the small balcony, gazing down at Sumeru’s city. You had managed to nab one of the dorms with the platform, much to the dismay of the other scholars. The two of you always loved seeing them fume, as they had to take their star gazing elsewhere. Neither you nor Zandik had cared much for the stars, but admittedly it was just… nice to feel the wind blow.

Sleep had escaped you ever since Zandik left. Not hearing the usual metal clink and unscrewing noises, soft grunts, and occasional chair shifting from Dottore had left you unsettled and bothered. You had begun to think about whether you should continue to stay in the Akademiya. Zandik was no longer here, and the place crawled with rumors and gossip regarding him. You weren’t so popular anymore either, as the whispers even extended to you, his roommate who people began to question if you were truly innocent.

You had been feeling a bit lost in general since Zandik had been expelled. You were fully aware of the heinous things he had committed. You had come to terms that he was a criminal, and you were accomplice of sorts as well. Actually, the moment you decided to associate yourself with him was the moment you became not so good of a person. But that wasn’t what bothered you. What bothered you was Zandik’s absence.

Any normal person would have called you absolutely crazy for desiring such a madman’s presence. And you couldn’t blame them. They were right. Yet your heart could not let go of the man who you stuck with since childhood. You could not let go of the boy who scowled and doubted your intentions at first, the boy who eventually warmed up to you, the boy who demanded you be his test subject and assistant at the same time, the man who tutored you in science and maths and everything else, the man who stayed up to ungodly hours to tinker.

The man who you fell in love with.

The revelation was enough to make your knees weak, and suddenly the cold air was too much for your warming body. Quickly, you locked the doors to the balcony and stumbled onto your bed, rubbing your temples at this acknowledgment. Archons, how stupid were you? You were in love with someone whose character was… words you could not describe. Though you knew it all along. You just were scared to admit it. You internally cursed Zandik for doing this to you, as you knew you were too late to say anything. Not that you’d have a chance though, considering his whole outlook. He’d think that love was for fools only, a waste of time when he could pursue more fruitful endeavors. So all of this only caused you to miss him so terribly much more.

You missed his eyes - such a unique red that could only be compared to the one that flowed through living beings. You missed his hair - the softness that you only felt once, when you gently caressed the locks when you thought he was sleeping, but he grabbed your wrist so quickly it nearly scared the living daylights out of you. You missed his sharp and smart tongue that could put someone into their place in a matter of seconds. You missed everything about him.

But you shouldn’t sulk. No - you would not brood. If he was here, he’d probably be reprimanding you for being distracted when there was so much left to do. Sooner or later, you knew in your heart you would see him again and-

Knock-knock.

You bolted up at the series of knocks. Were you hearing things? Surely no one would be at your door this hour of the night. Did Zandik make you delusional now?

Knock-knock-knock.

Nope, you still had some of your sanity left. You swung your feet off the bed, about to head towards the door when a rather strange shadow blurred across the floor. It looked oddly like… a figure… at your balcony… Your heart pounded as you convinced your head to look up.

Zandik was on your balcony. How he managed to get up so many stories of the building, you had no clue. No longer did he don the Akademiya’s uniform, but clothes that were rather nice and expensive looking. It seemed your stupor lasted longer than his liking as he tapped impatiently on the glass door and pointed towards the lock.

Well, it seemed your reunion with him was happening sooner rather than later, that’s for sure. Quickly you scrambled to open the door and pull your beloved inside.

“Z-Zandik,” you sputtered, not believing your eyes. “I- what- how are you here? Did anyone see you? You have to leave, they’re going to catch you!” You fumbled over your words, fighting with the happiness of seeing your friend again but also concerned about him being caught. “What happened with the plan? What happened in the desert? What are you wearing? How did you-?”

Zandik quickly shut you up by tapping his newly gloved finger on your lips. “You must not speak so loudly. But you are correct, we do not have much time.”

“You’re r-right,” you agreed, lowering your tone. “But I just need at least some kind of explanation. Why and how did you come back…?”

“The Fatui has recruited me.”

“The Fatui?” you echoed softly, trying to remember what that was. A few seconds of thinking and remembering the daunting masked men and women who carried around weapons caused you to snap back to life. “The Fatui?!” you whisper-yelled. “Those scary people who always eyed us up when went into the forest and stuff?! I- ah, I won’t even question it anymore. Just… go on.” Zandik smirked at your halting.

“They have provided me with sufficient equipment and a space to work. We no longer have any reason to stay at this ignorant institution,” he declared. “And, from now on, I am to be called Dottore, a new Harbinger.”

“Dottore?” you repeated. “How clever,” you snorted at the irony of the name. “And… what do you mean by ‘we’?” your voice got quieter towards the end.

“I mean what I said. You shan’t stay here any longer.”

You already knew you were following him, but your chest twinged due to your recently newfound feelings. What if you somehow turned out to be a nuisance for him? Eternally distracted by this foolish love?

“Oh really? And what makes you think I’d follow you so easily?” You don’t think he was expecting you to say that. He cleared his throat.

“I’ve already made it clear to the Jester I shall not work without a competent assistant. There is only one person who has proven themselves to be capable. I will not settle for anyone else,” Zandik stated resolutely. “And,” he paused, uncharacteristically unsure of how to voice what he wanted to say next. He had always been a man who would proclaim the most damning ideas with no remorse. Yet he had trouble formulating his thoughts because of you.

“You are… infuriating,” he began, making you raise your eyebrow. How charming of him. “Since that day in the forest, I knew you were going to be vexing. You would not bend to anything I said, would not leave me alone no matter the methods I used. Infuriating,” he repeated.

“But,” he very cautiously raised his hand to hover near your cheek, just barely making contact, “I never thought I’d become so… accustomed to you. I remember your habits and likes just as much as I remember those formulas you hated so. It’s laughable to think that almost all of my memories have you there somehow.”

“You are irking, but without your presence, I am strangely irritated myself, which is far more of a hindrance than I would have ever anticipated. Without you, I find my mind wandering - it is like nothing I have experienced before,” he finally cupped your cheek with hesitance, as if he himself was in disbelief at his own actions.

“I have known you almost all my life, yet I seem to still need more time to truly figure you out. I am not merely speaking as a scholar, but as… me,” he finished. Now, that was the last thing you expected from a man such as him. But he quickly regained his composure as he asked you the final question.

“Now,” he concluded. “What say you?” For all his talk of bravado and confidence, his hesitant show of affection revealed all the vulnerability that you desired to see and gave you the answer you needed. You placed your own hand over his one on your cheek, maintaining eye contact with him as he stiffened at the feeling of your skin against his, even if it was clothed. You moved closer to Zandik, until your chests were nearly touching.

Zandik knew what you were going to do. Although the thought of such affection usually made him… ill and annoyed, he could not help but think that the feeling would be different if you were the one initiating. How would his body react? Would he enjoy it? Would he want to do it again?

You moved closer to his face, and without hesitation, you kissed him. Zandik was rigid, the foreign sensation of another’s lips against him was completely unfamiliar to him. But it seemed that the answer to his questions was a resounding ‘yes.’ You pulled away from him, trying to gauge his expression. You did not know too much about kissing, but you knew your newly found lover understood even less, which spurred you to continue.

Running your hands down his firm arms, you leaned in again to nip and suck at his neck, drawing out a shudder from Zandik. He felt intoxicated by you all at once. He would be sure to write some notes on this later… they would be needed for further… research and experimental trials. He nuzzled his face into your soft locks, silently encouraging you to continue your course of action, eager to indulge in it with as much excitement as he would indulge in forbidden knowledge.

But then you released him with a pop of your lips. “Well, let’s not get too carried away,” you teased. “Wouldn’t want your new subordinates seeing you like this, hmm?” you straightened his collar and smoothed out the wrinkles you created on his clothes. To say he felt bewildered and betrayed was an understatement.

“And if that wasn’t enough of an answer for you,” you changed your tone to a soft, honest one, “Wherever you go, I shall go too. I decided that a long time ago, Zandik.” There was no need for either of you to say the three words that many others longed for. You knew that the relationship you now had with him was far stronger than a few mere words could describe.

Zandik quickly regained his composure. He would be sure to pay you back for your little stunt later. “Well then, there is much to be done. We have not a moment to waste,” he grinned, halfway out onto the balcony. “Take my hand, and we will be off,” he extended his arm, his gloved hand awaiting your own.

Taking his hand meant abandoning this current life. It meant embracing a new life that was far from morally right, one that should surely lead you to be despised by many. It meant becoming a part of the Fatui for Archon’s sake, an organization that was far from reputable. Zandik and [Name] would become lost to the world, the names only being remembered by the two of you in loving, soft-spoken whispers. Others would only know Dottore and his loyal assistant. If you took his hand, there was no going back…

And yet with no hesitation, you placed your hand in his.

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #dottore x reader #il dottore x reader #dottore fluff #genshin impact il dottore #il dottore #fatui harbingers x reader #fatui x reader #dottore angst #zandik x reader #genshin impact dottore #genshin impact zandik

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heartshapedbubble · 9 months

Note

Ello can I request a Norton Fools good x fem reader where she came across the blown up mines and sees Norton (in his hunter form) she’s scared at first but starts to recognise him and slowly starts to approach him reaching her hand up to cub his cheeks ( bro this man needs all the love! )

HOO BOY i agree tho... his release made me regain my interest in norton🫡🫡

[not to be a scum but i'm still open for sanrio emma comms btw😭😭]

fool's gold: imagine...⛏️

cut for length!

paying the bills has become a hellish cycle. break your back to pay off the expenses, relax for the following twenty-ish days, and be sent into frenzy again, not knowing if you're going to have a roof over your head tomorrow or not.

you found yourself hopelessly skimming through newspaper, looking for any job offer possible that would easen up the burden on your wallet. The paper was plastered with offers from bars, post offices and restaurants, but those were a always gamble. will you get your wage or not? and if you will, when? too much effort for something so high-risk.

at last, a small offer in the corner of the page caught your attention. pressed in miniscule letters, it said: MINE RESEARCH. EMPLOYEES URGENTLY NEEDED. EQUIPMENT PROVIDED. underneath the text, an attractive number: $15,000 payed off immediately after the job is done.

not only could this solve the rent for the following 3 months, you'd also have some money left for yourself! you rang the number the second you got home and successfully scored the job, due to the urgency of the situation.

it took you a day or two to start thinking about the job. what do you exactly need to know for mine research? probably at least some physical strength and stamina, you thought. surely it can't be too complex.

you arrived at the mine right on time, the sun slowly slipping back into the horizon to let the moon take center stage. to your dismay, you realized no one else applied for the job. maybe this wasn't a good idea after all? crawling through the narrow, rocky terrain all alone doesn't sound like the ideal scenario. no living being in sight, and 20 minutes have already went by.

still, that money is way too good to pass up. you picked up one of the yellow helmets piled up at the entrance, prayed to whatever god out there that your flashlight has enough power to last the following 2 hours and mindlessly rushed into the collapsing mine.

for the following 10 minutes, your sight unfocused while your mind took the lead, in front of and all around you just rocks and grime, shadows dispelled by the flashlight held by your hip like a lance. only after a good 5 minutes of running did you realize that you, in fact, have no idea what you're supposed to do. what qualifies as mine research? mining, inspecting the ores, measuring the surface?

all sweaty and breathless, the tunnel led you to a large room inside of the mine, the roof extending towards what seemed like a pitch black abyss. carts messily thrown around, bumpy and unpolished geodes laying all over the place, when was the last time a living being stepped foot into this mine? it made sense that such a large sum of money was needed to attract volunteers.

you carefully moved through the rubble, trying to avoid stepping onto pickaxes and shrapnel splayed all over the ground. since you forgot about the gloves your bare hand now held onto the unpromising terrain, the other firmly squeezing the only source of light in this limbo.

the surface grazing your hand now seems like it became... smoother? no longer does it cut and pierce your palms. it's bumpy, but at least you're not risking an infection anymore.

moving inch by inch in fear of falling, the stone below changes its form. you don't even pay attention to the fact that you're now grabbing onto cloth and that, below your palm, a steady pulse is faintly beating.

it's already too late when you realize that you're not alone, and the stone below you starts to take shape and morph until it extends towards the ceiling, now towering over you, slouched like a ragdoll.

complementing the cold shades of grey, a face emerges from the shadows. pale, with defined cheekbones, although malnourished. only his bust passes as human, as below his collarbones there's nothing but a mosaic of pebbles and boulders forming his torso, arms and legs. it - or he, perhaps - is breathing with struggle, coughs interrupting his wheezes here and there.

you feel a sense of dread overcoming you. you freeze on the spot, but he doesn't budge, either. lifeless except for the fact he's breathing and his heart ticks like a machine.

you draw back a step, and he lunges forward, seemingly still not used to this monstrous body of his. he could harm me with ease if he wanted to, a thought suddenly manifests in your mind, and with newfound bravery you inspect the cryptid like a sculpture. your hand grazes over his bumpy and unfinished hands, tugs at the remains of his clothes around his chest. he groans, in annoyance, you assume, but doesn't resist. you climb up a cart to reach his face, your fingers pinch his stubborn hairstrands, inspect the cavity in which his other eye once laid. in a moment of either stupidity or courage you roughly pinch his cheeks - they're cold to the touch, but it's funny how naturally does his intimidating face mush like a little boy's. kind of cute. after a minute of cooing to yourself two of his rocky fingers gently pinch your wrists and put them back to your sides, but his one foggy eye doesn't divert its gaze from yours.

perhaps the flashlight can last an hour more.. you've just began getting to know him, and the mystery of the mine and his origin still lay cold for you to discover.

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milksnakezz · 3 months

Text

This has been a post I’ve been thinking about making for a while now - but having seen full nsfw this morning here, I’ve made up my mind

I’m going on a break for a while - some months or so

I have been really uncomfortable in the tumblr community - specifically due to one person, but I won’t name them for the sake of maturity. I have had people talk crap about me for enjoying a character (Victoria from that one fan comic) and been calling me a r@pe apologist for liking her even though I have had experience with the like myself

I also just want to focus on my portfolio! I’m seventeen, and if you couldn’t tell by my constantly wavering art style - I am not that great at art, but I want to be a producer some day, so I have to nail down a style somehow !! 🫶

Anyways - I know I’m a small tumblr account so it’s not big enough for me to have a whole ‘ augh im leaving’ thing but I just want to make it clear that people in the sir Pentious community (god I feel so stupid saying that shit 😭💀) can be exceptionally toxic. I’ve met nice people through it, but I’ve also met creeps. And I just hope someone realizing their actions have consequences (even if it’s just getting a kid with 100 followers to step down) and to be better

Anyways - this is a whole nothing burger of a tumblr post but it’s just been bugging me. But I will hopefully be back when uni applications are closed! And when I am - I’ll have the platonic radiosnake comic done.

I’m sorry for this fucking twitter looking post but it’s just hella annoying to have a fixation on a character only for some adult with too much time on theirs hands to ruin it for you.

#sir pentious #yeah #also if u wanna keep in touch dm me I’ll give u my other socials

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supernovafics · 5 months

Note

I know in the I’ll be there for you universe it’s been established that reader and Steve both have not great relationships with their parents - was wondering how Steve would comfort reader if she had a bad go of it with her dad or mom or both angst and comfort?? Maybe this is too self serving tho so feel absolutely so free to ignore 😭

𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐒

"i'll be there for you" universe masterlist

pairing: bestfriend!roommate!steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 1.5k words

warnings: explicit language, brief(ish) mention of reader’s mom being shitty, a bit of angst/sadness but with a wholesome ending<3

summary: in which you’re upset and steve tries to cheer you up

author's note: thank you thank you for the request!! i went back to fall for this one because it just felt fitting. enjoy<333

general note: everything in this universe/series can be read as standalone oneshots but to understand the full “lore” it would prob be best to read the other stuff too<333

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Fall 1985

There was something wrong, but Steve couldn’t tell what it was.

You’d been holed up in your room ever since he got home from his Family Video shift.

At first, he thought it was something he had done, accidentally leaving Harold’s cage open or forgetting to put something away in the kitchen. But, you didn’t seem mad or upset with him; and he knew that if you were, you wouldn’t have shied away from saying something.

When he knocked on your door and asked what was wrong, he didn’t entirely believe your simple head shake and one word response of “Nothing,” but he decided not to press you further because he knew that you’d come to him whenever you were ready to talk about what was going on. But then hours went by and you didn’t say anything; you even passed up his offer to make a grilled cheese for you, which you usually never did. And that made him worried.

The time was nearing ten and the only moment you had come out of your bedroom since he got home at six was to grab a quick snack from the kitchen. Maybe you were sad about another crush that had gone wrong or maybe it was something bigger. Steve had no idea, but he felt like he needed to do something for you.

He grabbed a random hoodie from his room and then went over to yours, knuckles tapping against your shut door a few times. When you let out a loud enough, “Yeah?”, he took that as his cue to go in. You were sitting at your desk, textbook and notebook opened up in front of you.

Steve tossed the hoodie into your lap. “Come on, let’s go.”

You looked up at him, confused. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” He said instead of actually answering your question.

Even though all you really wanted to do was continue wallowing in your room and keep half-focusing on an assignment that you couldn’t care less about, you decided not to protest his words and adamance.

You pulled his hoodie over your head and slipped on a pair of shoes before following him out of the apartment.

The drive was quiet and you weren’t in the mood to fiddle with the radio, so it simply stayed on a station that seemed to play the same five “pop hits” on repeat.

It wasn’t until the final few minutes of the ride that you realized where he was driving to. The roads and turns he made started looking way too familiar, and a small smile took over your face when he pulled into the Dairy Queen parking lot. The closest one was over thirty minutes away and Steve hated driving to it because of that, but you never minded it because even though its menu pretty much resembled the dessert menu of your and Steve’s beloved Third Street diner, there was something about this place that you loved too.

You were always reminded of the summer when you finally got your license and you’d force Steve to come here with you most nights. You two would eat the ice cream in your car, or at one of the red tables that sat outside if it was warm enough; you loved those memories.

Steve put the car in park and then looked over at you. “I’ll grab everything. Do you want your usual?”

Instead of answering his question, you inadvertently burst into tears.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked softly as he unbuckled his seat belt and reached over to hug you. It was an entirely awkward and uncomfortable position, but you still immediately leaned into him, arms circling around his neck and face burying into his shoulder. You didn’t mind the way the center console was harshly poking into your side, or the fact that your own still buckled seat belt was in the way. “I thought that coming here would definitely cheer you up. Did I completely misread everything?”

All you could respond with right then was a barely audible “I’m sorry,” and then you sniffled and let out a breath that only made you cry harder.

“No, I’m the one that should be saying sorry,” Steve said as he soothingly rubbed your back and the subtle action managed to calm you down a bit.

You shook your head at his words before pulling out of the embrace and looking at him through blurry eyes.

“Okay, please be a thousand percent honest with me right now,” You said, somehow finding your voice. You half-heartedly wiped away your tears with the sleeve of Steve’s hoodie. “Do you think I’m selfish?”

“What? No, of course not,” The certainty in his tone managed to wash away some of the shittyness you’d been feeling for the past few hours. “Why would you think that?”

You looked away from him then and slumped back against your seat. “I was on the phone with my mom earlier, maybe like an hour before you got home. She asked me to come to this work event for my dad on Friday night, like some sort of dumb party thing. I said that I can’t since I already told you that I’d go with you to take the kids to that new arcade a few towns over. And honestly, even if that wasn’t happening I’d still probably make up some excuse to not go because I hate going to those work parties. But, anyway, my mom called me selfish for saying no, and I know it’s stupid, it’s so stupid, to believe her, but there was a part of me that did. And still kinda does.”

Usually, most of the things that your mom said to you went in one ear and then out the other, but for some reason, this comment managed to stick. You started overthinking things, feeling like the worst person ever because of something that wasn’t even true, but maybe it was? And you couldn’t stop thinking about that.

Steve grabbed your hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “You’re not. I promise.”

You found yourself believing him and how sure he sounded. He was probably the only person you’d always believe entirely without question because he knew you better than anyone else. You suddenly felt stupid for thinking that your mom was right in the first place.

“I’m sorry,” You mumbled and then met his gaze again. “This is all so dumb. I’m sorry that you only drove here because I’ve been acting like a sad idiot for the past few hours and you were trying to cheer me up.”

He shook his head and gave you a small smile. “What do you mean? I love coming here.”

You let out a breath of a laugh. “You don’t, but thanks for pretending.”

“Do you want me to get you something?”

You nodded and smiled at him. “The usual, please.”

“Okay,” He said before stepping out of the car.

Because of how late it was and since it was the middle of the week, there was no one in line aside from two teens and an older woman, so Steve was back in less than ten minutes with a simple vanilla cup with rainbow sprinkles for you and a cone for himself.

“Thank you,” You said as he also handed over the spoon and napkins that he had stuffed in the pocket of his jacket.

“Remember those promises we would make when we were kids?” He asked and you were quick to nod, immediately knowing what he was referring to.

You inwardly smiled as you thought about the slightly elaborate “running away” plans you two made when you were twelve and thirteen. It would always happen after he’d have some sort of disagreement with his parents, particularly his dad, and he’d sneak over to your house in the middle of the night. Or any night you found it hard to sleep because your thoughts were consumed by your parents and all of the pressure they put on you to do well in school, so you’d go to Steve’s place because talking with him was the only way to wash away some of your stress.

“I still stand by all of it,” He continued. “One of us says the words and we leave. No questions about it. I still don’t know where we’re going, but we’ll figure it out on the way.”

It felt less likely to happen now because you two technically had “left;” moved out on your own. Not necessarily far away, but far enough from your parents that the shit that used to be almost too unbearable became a little bit easier; mainly because you two had each other. And moments like this one only further proved that— you’d always be there for one another. However, that didn’t change the fact that those silly little promises still always stood.

You smiled at him. “I think our plans had something to do with joining a circus.”

You weren’t sure which of you had suggested it, but you still found it funny either way.

“Ah, yes, the circus idea,” Steve nodded, laughing a bit. “Not one of our best ones.”

“Oh, wait, actually, I think we either said circus or rodeo.”

“Both equally bad ideas, but I’d still do it for you.”

“And I’d do it for you too,” You told him before eating another scoop of your ice cream. “Hey, I know it’ll probably be midnight by the time we get home, but is the grilled cheese offer still on the table?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

let me know ur thoughts<333

(requests are open for stuff you wanna see in the universe/series!🫶🏾)

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington smut #steve harrington x you #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x fem!reader #stranger things fluff #steve harrington angst #steve harrington series #stranger things fic #stranger things series #stranger things imagine

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lanawinterscigarettes · 10 months

Note

Can I ask for Natasha x reader where one of them calls the other one by their real name and the other one freaks out because they usually call them by petnames? Thanks!

Of course! I always love fics based off this idea 💞 this is kind of angsty because I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff alright 😭 also Малыш is supposed to mean baby in Russian, but I honestly have no idea how accurate that is

Terms of Endearment (Natasha Romanoff x reader)

Warnings: mentions of insecurity/self depreciating thoughts, not really hurt/comfort but also kind of?? Idk

You and your girlfriend Natasha had always been fond of using petnames for each other, often more so than your actual names themselves. Whether it be honey, sweetheart, darling, or simply just babe, you never ran out of cutesy names to call each other. But as much as you loved hearing the never ending abundance of pet names roll off Natasha's tongue, what you didn't love was how often you got teased for it.

You knew the other members of the team didn't mean anything by it and would stop if they knew how much it upset you, but the problem was you didn't really have a good reason for feeling that way. It seemed silly just thinking about it, childish even. So you kept your mouth shut, laughing along at their meaningless jokes as you made yourself a promise to cut down on the cheesy nicknames.

You hoped Natasha wouldn't notice the lack endearing terms on your part, but she did, of course. She always noticed the small things nobody else picked up on. It came with the job description of being an assassin.

Although she'd noticed it, she couldn't understand why there was a sudden change in your behavior, especially when she knew how much you loved the petnames you had for each other.

Because of this, she cut down on the petnames, too, and only used them when you were alone, hoping maybe she could solve the problem that way, even if she didn't know what it was.

It all came it a head one day when you were cooking together. It was just the two of you, everyone else either busy or in another part of the Avengers base.

Natasha was standing by the stove, making some sort of soup. "Малыш, could you hand me the salt?" She asked after tasting it and realizing it needed something.

The way you tensed up at the name she used for you did not fly past her, and it caused her to let out a small sigh. "Are you okay? You haven't been using nearly as many petnames for me as you used to, and I've noticed whenever I use them you seem... upset. Even when we're alone."

You let out a sigh yourself, knowing it wouldn't do you any good to lie about it. "I... I was hoping you wouldn't notice." You began meekly, looking down.

Natasha had a slight frown on her face as she turned towards you fully. "And why is that?" Her tone was gentle, but firm. It was clear she wasn't going to let you leave without some sort of explanation.

"It- its not you. Or me. Its the others," you confess quietly. "I didn't really like the way they teased me whenever I called you honey or babe, so I stopped all together."

She nodded her head, the pieces suddenly falling into place. "Ah, so that's why. At first, I thought I'd done something to tick you off." She joked, it making her heart warm to hear the laugh that came from you after.

"No, it wasn't that, and even if it was, you know I could never stay mad at you." You said playfully, finally handing her the salt.

She took it from you and added some to the pot on the stove before speaking again. "I'll talk to everybody, and tell them to lay off on the teasing, that way you won't have to worry about it anymore."

You gave her a loving smile, your tone filled with gratitude. "Thanks, hon."

She smiled back at the petname before giving you a soft kiss. "Of course, darling. Anything for you."

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#marvel #marvel imagines #marvel imagine #marvel x reader #marvel fic #mcu #mcu imagines #mcu imagine #mcu x reader #mcu fic #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff imagines #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff fic

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only-lonely-star · 2 months

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Could you write a fic where the reader is Pony's friend, had been for a while but Pony doesn't really bring her up because he doesn't want the guys to tease him even though they really are just friends. Her home life is getting rough so Pony gave her his address and told her to crash with them if it ever gets to be too much. She ends up going one night and climbs in through Pony's window (she had gone with him to pick up tge book she wanted to borrow one day after school) and climbs into his bed not realizing him and Soda share a bed. Her and Pony are pretty happy cuddling eachother so she thinks nothing of it but it ends up being Soda and not Pony?

Lots of detail sorry lol just love your work and would love to see this come to life!

୨୧ ⁠♡ Night to Remember ⁠♡ ୨୧

~ Ponyboy Curtis, Sodapop Curtis ~

Warnings - This is somewhat sad in the beginning and how I worded a few things makes the situation for the reader sad. It’s nothing too bad, only minor arguing and yelling. Neglectful and abusive parents. Besides that, this story is sort of a funny one in a way. I decided it’s best to classify it as ‘fluff with a side of angst’ 😭

Summary - Escaping your toxic household to the Curtis’s house with…a twist?

Author’s Note - I GASPED when I first read this request, thank you so much for submitting!! I’m so glad you like my writings. I hope I wrote it well! Enjoy 🫶🏼

Word Count - 1.9k.

••●••••●••••●••••●••••●••••●••••●••••●••••●••

Walking up the steps to your small house on the hill, you could already hear the distant screams from your parents. They constantly argued only to make up the next day and argue all over again by nightfall. It was an endless loop you seemed to be stuck in - wishing you were anywhere else but home. The walk home was always fun, up until Ponyboy turned the corner and left you to finish the walk on your lonesome. Strolling down the street as the sun slowly set on a cold fall evening calmed you.

Unlocking the door with the spare key, you saw a broken glass bottle smashed along the cracked wooden flooring. Your parent’s constant hollering seemed to worsen as you stepped foot inside.

“Go! Just get out - take your daughter with you!” Your mother hollered to your old man who seemed utterly fed up with her. You looked between them with fear in your eyes, confused as to what you had done to be put into this mess.

“I just got home, what are you on about?” Your voice came out, thicker and more bitter sounding than you had expected. Your mother’s cold eyes aligned with yours, an uncomfortable amount of emotions flooding over you.

“I said get out!” she yelled louder than before, clearly displeased with your presence, “You don’t do a damn thing to live here! You don’t pay a single bill or work a job - all you do is hang out with those hoodlums!”

Your mind darted to thoughts of your good friend, Ponyboy. His words echoed in your mind, tuning out your own mother’s as she continued to holler.

”Come whenever you need to, okay? If it ever gets too hard on you back at your place…you’re welcome at mine…”

You brushed past your father’s tense shoulder, not caring to argue further. It calmed you to know you had a safe haven to escape to on nights like this. Ponyboy would be warm and welcoming just like a family should.

Drowning out the shouting that continued on, you began the trek to the Curtis’ home - book bag and all. Striding down the sidewalk, you slipped your hand into the side pocket of your tattered backpack. A crinkled piece of paper was retrieved; Ponyboy’s address was scribbled on it in blue ink. You’d never been there, but you knew him well enough to have heard about his own family issues. The loss of his parents which left him and his two older brothers to fend for themselves seemed scary. It made you feel a sense of gratitude to still have parents even if they were horrible to you.

The sun seemed to have set, stranding you amid the crisp air and the occasional streetlight ahead. Only a bit further and you’d be there. Convincing yourself you’d have a better stay at Ponyboy’s home was very comforting. You could both catch up on some reading or maybe even smoke a bit if he’d lend you a cigarette. Before you knew it, there you were. The same scribbled address on the paper matched the street and house number you had walked to.

Taking a deep breath, you approached the front door with a pit in your stomach. It seemed quiet; too quiet. Backing away from it, your anxiety had gotten the best of you.

”I’ll just use the window,” is what you said to yourself, kicking away small twigs and leaves to pry it open. You slid the window up, slipping yourself through the crack you managed to open.

The room was dark, a limp body lying underneath the olive-colored comforter. You smiled fondly. Ponyboy was already asleep - a strange sight to see since it was still a bit too early to wind down for the night. You let out a small sigh of victory knowing you could finally relax in a much quieter space than your parent's home. You carefully slipped the straps of your backpack off, mindful to not wake Ponyboy.

“Close that damn door,” he murmured, his voice raspy and sleepy. You instantly felt a pang of guilt for waking him. You set your bag down beside the small wooden desk that was pushed beside the bed. With a swift movement, you shut the window from the inside.

Ponyboy lay in a white oversized t-shirt, his back facing you as he curled himself up into a ball underneath the bedding. You glanced around the bedroom before joining him in bed. You kicked your shoes off, spreading open the sheets and comforter.

“How was school?” the voice spoke in a drowsy state. You decided to not ramble on and let him rest. Besides- you were the guest here.

“It was nice,” you replied softly. You were starting to feel sleepy as well, all of that walking surely paid off. Snuggling underneath the bedding, you felt him shove some of the sheets your way to cut you a bit of slack.

“You cold?” he asks, his head slowly turning to glance at you. Your back was facing his, the only source of light being the pale moonlight seeping through the window. You mustered a small head nod.

The warm touch of his arm suddenly draped over your waist was unexpected but welcomed nonetheless. He nuzzled the tip of his nose to rest against your spine, exhaling with a soft chuckle. “You smell like a little girl or something,” he teased light-heartedly.

You let out a forced laugh, not totally understanding the punchline to his little joke there. His voice was awfully deep; something you didn’t remember Ponyboy’s voice to sound like. He sounded like he had more of a southern drawl now as well. Hell- your voice became naturally deep when you were sluggish but nothing like Ponyboy’s sudden change.

Your eyes fluttered shut, the gentle hug from behind causing a wave of sleepiness to wash over you. Your breathing slowed, signaling you felt at ease for once. It was a nice contrast to the nagging hollers from your parents- that was for sure. Ponyboy seemed to relax further, a deep sigh being released from his lips. He nuzzled his face closer, “Pony, did you ever take out that trash?”

You froze, lifting your head in utter confusion. You glanced down to find a random man you’d never seen a day in your life. Panicked - you let out a scream and scrambled off the bed, falling to your ass on the cold wooden floor, taking the sheets with you.

The scream startled the stranger as well, sitting straight up in the bed - what was left of the bedding covering his lower half. “Who the hell are you?!”

Your eyes flung open, standing from the floor in a swift second. You stammered over your own words for a moment, trying to get them out. “Where’s Ponyboy?!”

He glanced at you and then to the open door where both Ponyboy and his eldest brother stood, shock etched on their faces. Your immediate shock subsided once you reestablished that this was in fact the correct house, and you’d perhaps slipped into the wrong bedroom.

Ponyboy pushed past his other brother, muttering a slur of words under his breath. “Oh no…no, no, no…”

His siblings exchanged confused glances, the oldest on the brink of a migraine. He pinched the bridge of his nose tightly. Ponyboy stood beside you, dragging your arm and ushering you by the window for a bit of space. He could see the messy attempt you’d made in trying to shut the window and locking it back up firmly. “Damn it, why didn’t you knock on the door?” he questions, glancing behind him to see the boy in the bed rushing to slip on a decent pair of pants.

Your eyes were staring into his with a look of guilt and confusion. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know this wasn’t your bedroom!”

You flung your arms in the air, innocence in your expression clear as day. Ponyboy sighed and rubbed his temple using his middle and index finger, adding pressure to the spot. His lips curled into a soft smile, the laugh echoing in the room. “I share a room with Sodapop over there,” he cracked up at the lack of information he’d given you, resulting in this whole encounter.

Sodapop’s eyes met yours, a rather apologetic and embarrassed look sewn onto his face although a bit of a grin was visible. With this newfound information, you quickly put the pieces together and realized the other brother was Darrel. You let out a deep exhale, your own giggle slipping out.

“I am so sorry…” you began, your flushed cheeks and smile being quickly covered by your hand, “Pony, I blame you for not telling me!”

You swatted his arm before placing both hands over your mouth, the embarrassment lingering. Both Sodapop and Darrel couldn’t help but chuckle - this big mishap was too hilarious to just brush off. Sodapop stood from the bed and ran a hand through his greasy combed combed-back hair before approaching the two of you.

“Pony, why didn’t you tell me you were at that age you start bringin’ girls home?” he teased, wrapping his arm around Ponyboy’s neck from behind and giving him a good noogie to mess up his hair. Ponyboy giggled, attempting to pry Sodapop’s arm off and away. Darrel stood at the doorway, nearly about to throw a fit at the mention of it.

“We’re friends, I told her she could come over when her folks got into fighting and stuff again,” he explained, trying to save the friendship from becoming awkward at his brother’s teasing.

Sodapop’s eyes had a slight shift in expression, but he reached a hand out to you nonetheless. He smiled warmly and looked down at you. “Soda,” he introduced himself so friendly to you that you nearly forgot how you screamed at the first sight of him.

You returned the smile with one of your own and shook his hand firmly. He spoke up again, nudging Ponyboy with a laugh. “Ponyboy’s got the voice of a girl - I was convinced that was you talkin’ to me!”

Ponyboy retaliated, shooting a glare at him. Before he could say much more, Darrel stepped closer and held his hand out to me as well. The introduction went smoothly, his hand was quite large but perfect for firm handshakes. “I’m Darrel…Darry.”

For once you felt welcomed inside of a home. You felt an immense amount of gratitude for Ponyboy and his cordial brothers who didn’t seem to mind your company at all.

Darrel stepped aside and motioned to you for the door, gently pushing Ponyboy’s shoulder to follow. “Ponyboy, get her familiar with the couch if she’s stayin’!”

He did as told and picked up your backpack to carry towards the living room. He sat you down as Sodapop’s charming laughter echoed down the hallway.

“Next time just knock, okay? Better yet, come right in. The door is never locked,” Ponyboy instructed with a small head shake following that up with a giggle, “You’re welcome anytime.”

You grinned from ear to ear at the strangely new feeling of belonging. Welcome anytime? Was this a dream?

Before you knew it, you had your arms around Ponyboy’s neck, trapping him in a tight hug to show how thankful you truly were. It was safe to say this was a night you’d never forget.

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her-favorite · 10 months

Text

AN OATH; J. VALESKA (T-F)

JEROME VALESKA X F!READER (TWO-FACED III)

WARNINGS: typical jerome things - since this is going to be a series, i’m not going to put lengthy ‘warnings’ on all of them (since if you’ve watched the show, then you can the read a book with j’s violence) and remember, if something isn’t necessarily ‘accurate’, it’s just my characterization of him and we technically don’t know what he’d be like in a relationship so

WC: 10,143

A/N: i know you guys have been WAITING for this one 🙏🏻 i’m really hoping i didnt let any of you guys down with how this turned out 😭 also if anyone reads some of these the wrong way, this is not Barbara slander!! she’s my wife and i love her - posting this series on wattpad (jeromes-scars) if anyone wants to check it out on there!!

SERIES MASTERLIST | PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 |

SUMMARY: Never expect anything rational with Jerome Valeska. He was a lunatic, a psycho. And yet, something about him captivates you. As you consider your options, you’re left in a crossroads. Time will only tell what your answer will be…

Click. Click. Click.

Consistent tapping of card stock against another rang in your ears. The sun blared into the open room violently, harming your eyes. The tapping on the other side of the room hadn’t stopped for what feels like hours, but you were sure it must’ve been at least twenty minutes. Irritated noises sounded from the same corner but you’ve been acting as if you were asleep the entire time, you can’t give up now. Though, you weren’t sure how much time you’d have left before he would wake you up.

The bed underneath you was soft, probably memory foam. You’ve yet to move from your spot ever since you had been told to lay in it last night. You’d be lying if you said that you had gotten any sort of sleep last night. Your thoughts kept you up and the fact you had been sleeping in the same bed, on the same mattress as a murderer wasn’t a very comforting thought to fall asleep to.

Jim was looking for you, you felt it in your heart. He always looked to you as someone to take care of, to protect when you were too vulnerable. He was always there when things would get to be too difficult and Jim would sit there and talk with you any time that you asked. You knew of Jim’s predicament between Barbara and Lee and, though he was never one to talk about his feelings, you somehow managed to make him feel comfortable enough to speak to you about the situation. Jim Gordon was like a father to you, and you his daughter.

That thought alone made you have to suppress tears that had formed behind your eyelids as you could practically hear Jim’s demanding voice yelling at cops at the GCPD to find you and to search the whole city for your whereabouts. You managed to have little hope last night as you stayed up trying to think of a way to escape the maniac that was currently holding you captive, and even with the training from the greatest cop in the city, Jerome was too far ahead. He somehow knew every thought you were going to think and it worried you how much he truly knew about you, if he had done any background searches and had somehow found childhood stories or worse, if he had been stalking you while he waited to make his first appearance.

You mentally sighed as you knew that you weren’t going to be able to pretend to be asleep for much longer without him realizing you’ve been awake the entire time. Blinking your eyes open, still trying to get used to the bright rays shining inside, your body shifts lightly on the bed.

Instantly, the clicking stops.

Your heart sped up just slightly as the room was engulfed in silence so suddenly. You tried to stop the argument that you were having with yourself as you sat up, purposely ignoring the creaks coming from in front of you and looking over at the window as clouds roll in over the sun.

“Sleeping beauty’s awake!” A cheerful voice exclaimed, fully breaking you out of your daze. Though, you should’ve expected it, a small flinch was your reaction. “I’ve been waiting forever for you to wake up.” The man rounds the corner and stands in your line of vision, making you look up at him. “That’s if, you’ve actually been asleep.” The smirk on his face lightens his features as it seems to split across his lips.

“C’mon, doll, we got a busy day ahead of us!” Without any sort of warning, a pale hand reaches out and grabs yours, pulling you up from the bed and into his arms. Your breath hitched in your throat at the impulsive action, your wrists starting to ache at his firm grip on them. “Hi, gorgeous. Fancy seeing you here.” A loud, boisterous laugh sounded from the man, making your ears hurt. If you had your hands free you would’ve put them over your ears to drown out the heinous sound.

Jerome lets go of one of your wrists but keeps a tight hold on your other. “First, we’re gonna go downstairs, have some food, maybe. Then,” he walks back over to a desk that sat in the corner of the room. “Oh, I need these!” His free hand reaches forward and grabs a stack of cards, flicking some through his finger until one flew out onto the desk. “There you are..” His voice was low as a wide smile grew on his face. He stuffs the deck in his pocket as his fingers reach back over to grab the lone card. The one you wished you hadn’t seen.

The Joker Card.

You wished you protested more. Maybe, just maybe he would’ve listened. The air was tense in the vast room as Jerome sat beside you, stuffing his face with the breakfast buffet that was presenting itself on the table. You sat still as you tried to ignore the uncomfortable silence and the teasing stare from Barbara Kean that sat across from you. Another woman sat beside her, but you hadn’t been introduced to her yet, and she wasn’t in the line up of the criminals that had ‘broken out’.

“So,” The blonde broke the silence as she rested her chin on her hand, moving forward and leaning her elbow on the table. “What’s this?” She looks between the both of you. Without having to glance over at him, you knew Jerome was still putting handfuls of food in his mouth, the gross sound of him chewing echoed in your ear.

“Wait a second,” Barbara paused as a smirk began to form on her lips. “I know you..” She searches you over and then gasps, putting a hand over her mouth dramatically, “You worked with Jim.” A giggle escaped her mouth as she spoke, “Funny seeing you here, huh?” She leans forward again, resting both of her arms on the table and watching you intently. You knew better than to give her a reaction as you sat still, listening to what she had to say.

“Well? You gonna answer me?” She breaks the heated eye contact first, switching between the both of you. The woman beside her doesn’t seem all that interested in the conversation as she only looks up once or twice before fiddling with the whip in her hands.

“None of your business, blondie.” Jerome finally looked up from his plate of food, almost all of it gone, with a sinister glare on his face. “Want some, gorgeous?” His demeanor changes with a snap of his fingers as he looks over at you, plunging his fork into a pancake, offering it over toward you. Before he could pull it over the table, sticky syrup still hanging off of the snack, you shake your head in response. He shrugs, “More for me.” Those same disgusting sounds resurface.

“C’mon, ginger. Once Theo finds out you brought a cop into this mess,” Barbara leans back in her chair and looks over at the woman next to her, giving her a certain expression.

“He’ll let me deal with you.” The woman finished the blonde’s sentence as the dark haired girl stares forward at the ginger. The whip cracked in her hand making Barbara smile as she glanced over at it.

Nothing in this world could ever make you flinch as bad as that laugh. It’s loud and irritating and painful to listen to as it screams in your ear, reverberating against the walls. It stung as it seemed to replay in your head, quickly forming a headache. With a flat palm against the glass surface of the table, Jerome leans back in his chair and cackles until it sounds like it hurts. He probably likes the pain.

“Oh, wow! Didn’t know,” Another cackle cut himself off, ending in a harsh wheeze. “Didn’t know you had that in ya, Tabby!” He playfully wipes a tear from his eye and rests his other hand on his stomach as if he’s trying to soothe the ache from laughing so hard. “Wasn’t that funny, sugar?” Another sharp laugh sounded from him as he animatedly tries to calm himself down.

You’ve realized, even over the coarse of just a little over an hour, that Jerome hasn’t once called you by your name. Had it been a subconscious thing of his? Does he do it to get on your nerves?

An irritated eye roll was the response from the woman across the table. Her chair screeched as she pushed it away from the table and stood up, her whip ready in her hand. Before she walked away, she turned towards Barbara and asked, “I’m gonna blow off some steam. You comin’?” She must’ve had a certain look in her eye with the way the blonde had agreed. The taller woman took her hand forcefully and pulled her out of the room, not without a small giggle from Kean, as her whip dragged across the floor.

Once the clicking of her heels faded out of the doorway and down the hall, Jerome looked over at you with a wicked smile. Not once have you figured out what his plan was. You were hoping that he’d bring the topic back up again since he hadn’t finished explaining before he brought you downstairs. Something with playing cards.. right?

“You ready for today, toots? It’s gonna be a roller coaster.” He giggles and gets up from his chair, the same loud screeching noise invading the silence again. He held out his hand, politely waiting for you to take it. You knew you should take it, maybe if you played along for a little while, navigate your way through the building, you could find your way out. With that little hope in the back of your head, you accept the offer of his hand and stand up from the chair.

As he pulled you up the stairs towards his room, you’re lost in thought, trying to reclaim every single detail from yesterday. Even with Jerome’s consistent mumbling, you ignore him as your mind goes as far as to recall when you had woken up tied to that chair with Jerome standing above you. He kept teasing you, he had killed Robert Greenwood, and then.. you were blanking. Your memories had vanished once Jerome had stopped walking and snapped his long fingers in front of your face.

“Hellooo? You in there?” With a few scattered blinks, you shake your head lightly to bring yourself back to reality.

“Yeah,” You take a deep breath before finishing, “I’m here.” Though, you wished you hadn’t been.

“Goodie! C’mon, doll, I told you we had a busy day ahead of us!” Jerome grabs your hand and sprints into his room. He sits you down on the edge of the bed and then walks over to an armoire that sat by the wall. Jerome opens the doors and sorts through the clothes, mumbling to himself, “no,” “too tacky,” “hm, maybe.” As he does so, you run your eyes over his stature, only now realizing that he had been wearing a long, red silky robe with blue pajamas underneath. Soft slippers held his feet as they were a little too small for him. Now that you had thought about outfits, you quickly looked down at yours. Your police uniform was gone. In its place was a long sleeved plaid sweater with random black sweatpants.

“You look cute in my clothes, doll face.” You look up when you hear his teasing tone, catching the wink he sent you before he turned back around and picked up a hanger from inside the closet.

Had he changed you? With your mind foggy, you realized that you must’ve fell asleep at some point. The headache from before came back full force as you tried to recall everything that had happened in that past 24 hours. You didn’t know why you couldn’t remember everything clearly, why you were so caught up in yourself. You rub your eyes as if it’ll help you remember everything.

“What is my doll gonna wear today.. hm,” he puts his finger on his chin as he thinks. You quickly try to think of something to intrigue him, truly not wanting him to pick your outfit. Who knew what was going through that maniacs head.

“Why am I here, Jerome? I mean, why am I still here?” You get up from the bed slowly, almost like you were trying to not scare away a cat. “You could’ve killed me back at the GCPD, but you didn’t. Why do you want me here?” You take a step forward, still wary of him. You were unsure of what the man was truly capable of and you were completely against seeing what he was.

The ginger tried to show no reaction as he stared off, but you noticed the way his breath seemed to hitch in his throat and the barely there picked up pace of his chest moving up and down. Mentally debating if you should keep talking, you gave him a second to adjust to the sudden question. His true origins were still yet to reveal to you. He obviously despised his mother, killing her on a hill and laughing about it. From the threats surrounding his supposed brother, he didn’t seem a fan of him either. You had yet to know what his childhood and his life was actually like. You wondered if he would ever tell you.

“Barbara might have some clothes in her room. Go look.” Jerome’s voice was heavy as he talked and he turned around, avoiding your gaze. He walked past you as he made his way back to his desk.

Rifling with objects inside a drawer, he waits for you to follow his orders. “I said go look.” You took note of the way his jaw clenched tightly and the how he tries to distract himself instead of thinking about your questions. “Go fucking look!” Jerome exclaims, motioning to the door. Even though you were used to the yelling that went around the precinct, the way Jerome had done it sent a chill down your spine. It was malicious and frankly, it was frightening.

Maybe you could find a way out if you were to try and find Jim’s former lover’s room. Without so much as a nod, you walk away and out of the door frame. The rustling seemed to stop but the clicking of the cards began again. Your hand glided across the smooth wall as you wandered down the deserted hallway. A long window was placed at the end of it, giving you a view of the city. Once you reached it, you took a moment to let your eyes search as much as you could.

The recording. It came back to you.

Jerome had been videoing himself after he shot Greenwood yesterday, before he took you here. His face was bloody from your collision and the residue from shooting the other man. When Jerome was finished speaking to the camera lens, he switched it over to you. You hadn’t spoke, but nodded to one of the ginger’s questions. Jim will know, you remember thinking that.

Jim knew about your conversation in the interrogation room that day. And though he was upset to hear about you kissing Jerome, there wasn’t anything either of you could’ve done about it then. Jim was probably scouring the city looking for you right now. The thought brought a sad smile to your face as you realized how much you missed being out in the daylight.

Without trying to dwell on it for much longer, you turn down into a random doorway, hoping that it would be one of the women’s rooms. Your eyes search the area, focusing on an identical wardrobe that was also in Jerome’s room. Hesitant at first, aware that there could be anything in this room, or anyone, that could pop out at you and risk your safety. After a few steps, you quicken your pace and make your way closer to the armoire.

The creak that sounded from the doors made you cringe, the awful noise echoing in your ears. As you search through the clothes, you pick the first thing that caught your eye, something simple. What was Jerome’s plan? Was he going to take you outside and teasingly flaunt you to the GCPD just for his amusement? Maybe then you could make a run for it, threaten him somehow.

All sorts of strategies and ideas combat in your mind as you reach in and pick out an outfit that seemed comfortable enough, and hopefully good for the weather, that is if he decides to be kind and let you get fresh air. You turn around with the fabric in your hands and wandered a bit in search for a bathroom to change in. A small connected room was in the same bedroom, flicking the light on and watching the room illuminate. As you close the door behind you, you finally, for the first time in twenty four hours, feel alone. Resting your head back against it, you breathe evenly, clutching the clothes tightly in your hands.

Once you grew comfortable with the silence, you get up and look into the mirror. With an empty mind, your hand reached up to your neck, ghosting your fingertips over the faint bruise that was starting to form. As you subconsciously swallowed, you noticed how sore your throat felt inside. You were embarrassed as you remembered what you let him do to you and the way you gave in so easily.

Trying not to let those thoughts plague you, you start to peel off the clothing that the man had put on you. You took your time replacing each fabric, at the same time trying to think of escape routes and what Jerome could possibly have planned for today.

Finally, as you straighten out your shirt, you jump when you suddenly hear a harsh knock on the door beside you. “Almost done, doll? We’re on a tight schedule today!” His loud, cheerful voice boomed through the door, invading the silence that once lingered.

Taking a deep breath, you try to compose yourself. While you were changing, you were thinking about ways to go along with his madness. Maybe if you pretend that he convinced you to turn over a new leaf and follow his actions, he’ll believe you and put his trust in you. If you try and act as if you don’t follow the GCPD anymore, maybe you’ll get lucky?

As you turn the doorknob, Jerome stands outside with a smile on his face. “Finally! Thought you died in there.” He laughs dramatically and you have to stop yourself from grimacing at the loud sound. “C’mon little miss detective, we got some work to do!” Never mind.

He grabs your hand and drags you of the bathroom and down the hall. He didn’t seem agitated anymore, acting as if his small outburst didn’t happen. That might be a good thing for you, to not let him dwell on it. The last thing you needed is to have Jerome angry at you. Even at the time, you knew that asking that question wasn’t a good idea, even if you truly do want to know the answer. With the mans sociopathic tendencies, no one knew what he was capable of, what he could truly do to you. And though you do have police training and you were sure that if Jerome were to try and fight you, you could counteract him, but with his impulsive decisions it’s difficult to know his next move, you were almost sure that he never did either.

As he pulled you along, you tried to think of any possible place he’s going to take you to. Checking off as many locations as you could, the last place you expected was the exact one he went to. You shouldn’t be surprised with him anymore.

The room was quiet as you waited.

When you arrived at the apartment complex and had followed Jerome up the stairs to a certain room he was looking for, you felt your breath hitch at the sight of the name on the door: Paul Cicero. You should’ve known he would come for his father.

Jerome opened the door and let you walk in first, a teasing smile on his face the entire time. You roamed around the room as you hear the door click shut behind you. No sign of any pictures relating to Jerome or his brother resided anywhere. Your fingers ghosted over the wooden counter as your eyes look over the arrangement of spices and utensils.

“Listen to me, baby,” Jerome’s voice cuts you out of your thoughts and when you look up to see where he was, you were surprised to see him just inches away from you. “When you hear that door open, I want you to go silent.” He orders, his eyes never daring to look away from yours. “This is gonna be fun.” He smiles devilishly and grabs your hand again, leading you over towards the other side of the room.

Only a few minutes pass until the door creaks and opens wide. Taps of shoes hit against the floor as the older man walks in, his cane swaying beside him. Not too long after he shuts the door, he freezes and calls out, “who’s there?” Jerome stays hidden, but the smile gave away his feelings. “I know someone’s there-“ You backed away suddenly when Jerome moved forward and wrapped a rope around his father’s neck. You tried to reach forward, your instincts coming to play, and help him, but with Jerome’s free hand, he tightly grabs your hip and pulls you behind him, limiting your reach.

“Hiya, pops. Long time.. no see.” A sinister laugh left Jerome’s mouth as he finished his sentence, tightening his grip as his one hand held either end of the rope. It reverberated in your mind until you realized that Jerome had tied his father to a chair with a cloth over his mouth.

“So, how you doin’?” Jerome rasps as he sits in a chair across from his father. You stood by the counter, a few feet away from them. It felt terrible to watch, all of it was against your moral code and especially with the oath you took to being a cop, watching this and not doing anything to stop it or to help the injured man was wrong. But that one thought in the back of your head that was trying to convince you that Jerome wasn’t going to hurt him, he was his father for fucks sake. And then you remember how you got into this mess.

“The silent treatment, huh? Hey, I’ll tell ya a story.” Jerome continues, having a one sided conversation with the man across from him. “You remember Kansas city, dad. The circus went through town every spring, right around my birthday.” His voice grows deeper as he talks, his emotions revealing themselves.

“There was this guy. Him and my mom used to drink and.. fornicate and beat the crap out of me. They’d make a whole night out of it. And I remember one time,” He put his hands out and started to get up from his chair slowly, keeping eye contact with Mr. Cicero.

“It was my ninth birthday, him and my mom had just finished round one of boozing, boning, beating up Jerome and decided to take a little break.” Jerome explains it in a way so casual, showing that he had grown accustomed to the abuse from his mother. “Anyway,” He turns and leans toward the table in front of you, picking up a knife and inspecting it as he talks.

“I was outside the trailer and you were there. And you said, “why are you crying, Jerome?”” He pauses and acts as if he’s going to cry. “It’s my birthday.. and my mom and the snake guy are beating me.” He made his voice higher, impersonating his younger self.

“And then you said, “this world doesn’t care about you or anyone else, Jerome. Better to realize that now.”” With his voice deeper and raspier pretending to be his father, the tone sent chills down your spine. Jerome pauses before continuing, “And that was it.” He looks over at his dad with a large smile.

“You see, there’s this guy, dad, he believes in me, he thinks I’m gonna be a star!” Jerome exclaims and rushed over to the man tied to the chair, pointing the knife at him dangerously. “And tonight.. all of Gotham will see that, too. Expect for you because you’ll be, well, ya know, dead.” Had it been in any other situation, you would’ve laughed. But you were about to witness a murder before your eyes.

Jerome reaches behind Paul and undoes the cloth that was knotted behind his head. Mr. Cicero began to plead with his son, but Jerome quickly shut it down, his anger coming to the surface. You watch them converse, or rather argue, about something, but Jerome’s words linger in the back of your head. He was abused? How come that was never in his file? How had that not been revealed to you?

An hysteric laugh cut you out of your thoughts. “That’s not why I’m gonna kill you!” Jerome smiles widely and turns back around, facing the table. With the knife still in one hand, he reaches the other forward and holds up blueprints. “Plans to Arkham Asylum,” he lets it fall from his hold, showing it to his father. Picking up something else, he turns around and shows him again, “And look at these, oh,” he walks over to Mr. Cicero and brushes the material against his cheek. “Letters between you and your troubled son. Innocent at first glance, but Detective Gordon, you remember him, right? You’ll feel little bumps.. a secret message, written in braille between you and your son discussing my escape!” He throws the envelopes and extends his arms out, regaining his energy and smiling happily.

Jerome makes his way back to the table and grabs a can off of it. “Finally, the knockout gas, used to disable the orderlies!” He moves it around before setting it back down. Walking back over to his father be speaks, “Cause you see, dad,” Jerome picks up the chair he was sitting in before. “This guy I was telling you about,” he places the chair down in front of Paul. “He’s the one who broke me out of Arkham. He doesn’t want anyone to know about that.” Jerome sits down on the backwards chair, not before looking back at you with a wink after he finished talking. Your jaw clenches as you let his words soak in.

“The police will find these letters and they’ll think, “the blind old fool really loved his son, what a wonderful father. Oh, there won’t be a dry eye in the house.”” Jerome takes his dads tie and lightly dabs his cheeks, pretending to wipe away tears.

“They’ll never believe it.” Mr. Cicero denies.

“Oh, sure they will,” Jerome shrugs nonchalantly. “Cops are dumb.” He pauses before straightening out in his chair and looking back at you. “Besides you, gorgeous.” He smiles in a charming manner and sends you another teasing wink, finding it amusing in the way you react.

“Oh, would’ja look at that?” He giggles at his joke and gestures towards the clock. “We gotta go, doll!” He gets up from his chair and moves it out of the way. “Sorry you’re gonna miss my big night, dad. Hey, you’re psychic. So tell me.. do I kill?”

Mr. Cicero inhales sharply and a vicious look overtakes his features as he responds, “You will be a curse upon Gotham. Children will wake from sleep screaming at the thought of you. Your legacy will be death and madness.”

Jerome smiles wickedly and leans down to the side of his fathers face. With a menacing whisper that sends chills down your spine, you hear,

“Ha. Ha. Ha.”

Moving away and grabbing Paul tightly, Jerome wraps up the meeting. “Welp, say hi to mom for me.” Before you could try to stop him as you rush over, Jerome lifts his arm and throws it down to connect his blade with his fathers eye.

Knock. Knock.

Jerome freezes, as do you. The ginger places a hand over Paul’s mouth to silence any pleas.

“GCPD.” Jim. That was Jim. You could go out there now and tell him that you were okay, that you didn’t need him to worry anymore. But something inside you prevented that. You didn’t know what it was and it made you feel sick. In that moment, the thought of staying with Jerome was an actual option. It made you feel nauseous.

Another knock sounded from behind the door. “GCPD. Mr. Cicero, it’s Detective Gordon. We need to speak with you about your son.” You look back over at Jerome, noticing that he was already watching you. He had a hard stare on his face as he notices the way you hesitate. Taking a deep breath, you nod your head slowly, telling him that you weren’t going to leave. The furrow in his eyebrows undoes itself and a wide smile grows on his face.

“Mr. Cicero?” At that exact moment, Jerome quickly plunges the blade through his fathers eye as Paul cries out in agony. With a quiet giggle from the ginger, he rushes away and grips your hand, pulling you out of the open window. Before he steps foot outside the frame, he digs his fingers into his pocket and pulls out a card. Tossing it to the floor as it lands over by his father, the figure on the card stock standing out.

The Joker.

It was perfect timing for Jerome as he turns the corner, watching Jim pull Harvey out of the room, the blue knockout gas floating out of the doorway. Collapsing to the floor, Jim leans against the wall, trying to catch his breath. As Jerome starts to whistle, he walks down the hallway toward the two. You watch with an anxious heart, your feet feeling like they were planted to the floor and your mouth sewed shut.

“Detective Gordon, old pal.” Jerome speaks, crouching down beside the cop. “That gas sure packs a-“ Jerome sighs as he stops Jim from trying to hit him. He takes the gun from the detective as Jim loses his balance and falls against him. “That’s cute.” Jerome mocks, but was quickly cut off when Jim mustered up enough strength and pushed him up against the wall.

With Jim’s hand around Jerome’s neck, he rasps playfully, “I’m sensing.. anger.”

“You killed Sarah Essen.” Jim says with a heavy tone. Jerome killed your boss? Was it before you had woken up? How did he never tell you? Jerome smiles at the truth, nodding his head as much as he could.

“Now I’m gonna kill you.” You should stop this. Stop this fight, one of them may die, Jerome still has the gun. As soon as you move forward a step or two, Jerome lifts up his arm to press the barrel of the gun against Jim’s head.

“Jerome!” You shout instinctively. So many people have died already, the last person you wanted to see shot was Jim Gordon. He was all you had left.

Jerome’s head shot over to look at you, caught off guard by your shout. Jim followed at the sound of your voice, his face softening as he realized that you were okay. Before he could do anything, Jerome hit him on the side of the head with the gun, knocking him unconscious. Before he fell into a sleep, you just barely heard him whisper, “Y/N.” You felt a piece of your heart shatter for the first time in a while.

“Ugh, c’mon, doll!” Jerome groans and stands up, brushing off his knees. “Never let me have any fun.” He pouts dramatically, looking over at you with his own version of puppy eyes. You didn’t know what reaction he was expecting of you as you stood there, taking glances over at the two men that you cared for knocked out on the floor before you.

“This is just the beginning, baby. Soon, I’ll be the King of Gotham with you beside me as my Queen.” Jerome smiles with genuine happiness, walking over to you. You couldn’t completely tell yet, but you were almost one hundred percent sure that Jerome had placed his trust in you, something that would clearly be difficult for someone like him, and you truly didn’t know why he chose you… and you truly didn’t know why you started to reciprocate it.

“You’ll see, doll. Everyone will see.”

Once you both made it back to Theo Galavan’s house, he brought you back to his room almost like it was a reflex. “Busy day, doll, busy day.” Jerome would mutter or occasionally sing. He had his hand in yours, swinging it back forth slightly, whether it was a subconscious thing or not.

It was obvious how much Jerome craved the physical contact, as you wouldn’t be able to recall the amount of times he’s held your hand today. His palms were slightly rough, you were sure it was because of his days at the circus, working day and night, traveling to so many places. You noticed that freckles had littered his arms and lead up to his hand, scattered on his pale skin. The orange hair that rested on his arm was barely visible, his adorning marks seeming to take the spotlight.

Taking you by surprise, Jerome stops abruptly and pulls you close to him. His left hand never leaves yours as his opposite takes hold of your hip. With a sharp intake of air, you look up at him, trying to figure out what he was going to do.

The hand that was holding yours moved it up in a position that looked like you were about to dance. You were proved right when Jerome took a step forward, placing your other hand on his shoulder and moving with you. It wasn’t an award worthy performance, but Jerome seemed to have fun.

“Was thinking about what you said earlier, beautiful.” He breaks the silence and looks down at you, stepping back as you followed. “And since I plan to make you my Queen,” he trails off and shrugs, “I guess you’d want an explanation as to why you’re here.” His hand tightens ever so slightly in yours. “I see something within you, doll.. that same glint that was in my eyes when I planned to murder Lila.” He spits out the last word with malice, showing that even just saying her name rose anger inside him.

You opened your mouth to protest his statement, but he makes sure to speak first. “Ah, ah, let me finish.” He sways his body lightly, still moving in step with you. “We can rule this city, just you and me. Everyone will be under our control.” Jerome smiles widely, showing his teeth. “You know you want it, baby, don’t try and deny it.” He twirls you and then quickly pulls you back toward him, into his chest.

“Jerome,” your mind went blank as you tried to think of how to refuse his words. Everything felt constricting, like just this little time of you dancing with him was narrowing down your chances for a future. You’re a cop, that’s what you were always going to be. You couldn’t hand over your life over to this maniac as he tries to convince you while he serenades you. If you agreed to this, your life would be over. What would happen when Jerome would get on someone’s bad side and they decided they needed him gone? What would be the point continuing this madness if the reason you started wasn’t there anymore? Once you realized that you began to consider it, you berated and cursed yourself for even taking the second to even think of it as a decision. Besides, how could you leave Jim? He taught you everything about being a good cop, he was there every step of the way. How could you abandon him now?

“Shh, doll, I can hear your thoughts from here.” Jerome keeps swaying, leaning forward and whispering in your ear. His voice snaps you out of your options, blinking at the sudden intrusion. His hand leaves your hip and rests on the back of your head, pushing on it gently to lean it against his chest. “Just imagine it, sugar. We’ll run this city and make it better- or, well, worse. We can do whatever we want, whenever we want without any consequences because we’ll be the ones making the rules.” Jerome doesn’t stop moving once, the actions seeming to spur him on more. He was never one to slow down.

“All you have to do is say yes.” He whispers.

All you have to do is say yes.

The room was buzzing with chatter, the area filled with people. Women and men were dressed in their finest attire as they conversed with each other, some laughing and others smiling.

You stood in a long dress, looking around the vast room. You were told to blend in with the others in the room as you were given the clothes to wear to match. A mask was placed over your eyes, it looked similar to one you’d see at a masquerade ball. It was the same color as your dress, a dull, dark blue. Jerome didn’t want it vibrant, he had hinted to you that he had some sort of plan in mind for you, but he never told you what it was or when he was going to put it into action.

Before you both had left to make your way over to the event, Jerome had stopped you before you could walk away. He took your hip in one hand and held your neck, not in a hostile way, he just wanted to feel your skin under his hand. His eye contact with you never failed to make goosebumps form on your skin. When he broke the silence between you both, he said, “Think about what I said.” He whispered before continuing, “We will be worshiped. Just give in to me.” Jerome smiles that crazed grin at you and then walks away.

For the half an hour you’ve been standing here, you’ve reviewed your options millions of times. It made you feel sick that you actually considered the life that Jerome could give you. Even if he didn’t say it, he did care for you. And you were sure that wasn’t an easy thing to admit, especially with a personality like his.

If you go with Jerome, so many things could backfire. What if he was leading you on and decided to throw you away once he persuaded you to agree? What if you die a villain in your story? You became a cop because you wanted to help others, not hurt them. All of the things Jerome stands for are the exact thing you don’t. He thinks it’s entertaining to watch people die, to kill them with no remorse. He thinks there aren’t any consequences for some of the things he does and you’d be lying if you said that there wasn’t a little spark of worry inside you that, that could be the reason he might die some day.

But if you went with your gut and stayed true to yourself.. you weren’t sure where it could lead you. Would you still be offered your same job? What happens when they find out you hadn’t tried to escape from the lunatic and they fire you without any notice? There’s zero possibility that you’d be able to make it anywhere else in this city. Worst of all, Jim may never speak to you again. You knew that you wouldn’t be able to live with that.

As you stood in the back, you observed the room. The stage was empty of people, the tables and chairs occupied by wealthy couples, and.. Bruce Wayne? Your shoulders dropped as well as your heart.

“First, I’m gonna kill Bruce Wayne..” Jerome’s words from last night had rang in your head like a chime. Your breathing altered slightly, your chest moving up and down faster. Against your better judgment, you began taking quiet, smooth steps over to the boy. He stood next to an older man as they looked forward at the stage. As soon as you became just a few feet away from the billionaire boy, a voice echoed through the room.

“Good evening. I’m Dr. Lee Tompkins.” Your head immediately looked over at the stage. You knew her.. the Medical Examiner, Jim’s girlfriend. Your mind tries to figure out how Jerome ties into this, until you hear, “Over the years, we had magicians come in and entertain our children. So, tonight, we have one of the magicians here for you. Without further ado, please allow me to present to you.. The Great Rudolpho.” Lee smiles and the stage light travels over to a box with a woman in a pink tutu and mask, similar to yours, standing in front of it.

As she opens the box, she feigns surprise once she notices it was empty. When she closes it and stalls for a second, she opens the box again, a man inside it now. He yawns and then gasps once he realizes everyone can see him. The crowd laughs at the man’s actions and claps.

If it were possible, you felt your heart sink even lower than it already was. Jerome had a handsome suit on with a fake beard and mustache, a big hat and an eye mask on his face.

“Greetings, ladies and germs! I am, indeed, the Great Rudolpho!” His accent was strange, it felt wrong in your ears compared to his normal voice. He bows, as well as the woman. Your gaze follows the woman as you look her up and down, trying to shake the familiarity that she has. Your head moved to look at the floor and your eyes fell shut as you realized.. Barbara Kean.

When you look back up, a bird flies through the crowd. A red cloth was in Jerome’s hand, signaling to you that he was the one that did it.

“For my first act, I’ll require a volunteer!” His voice rang out into the crowd through the microphone. “Let me see,” he looks away from everyone and points his finger as he says, “Duck, duck, duck.. duck, duck, duck.. goose.” He points forward, just a few feet away from you. His gaze returns as he stares towards where his finger was pointed. You quickly look to your left as you see Bruce Wayne’s perplexed expression. The man had whispered something to the boy as the assistant, Barbara made her way toward him and offered out her hand for him to take.

You couldn’t let Jerome kill him, let alone on a stage in front of a crowd of people. You needed to stop this, to reach out and pull him away from Barbara so he couldn’t take her hand, because that act itself might cost him his life.

Hesitantly, Bruce accepted her hand, following her as she walked away. You walked forward impulsively, about to reach out to try and grab one of them, but before you could, Barbara turned around and sent you a wink from under her mask. It made you freeze since you weren’t expecting it, and once you broke out of it, you realized that the two were already on stage.

“Hello, young man.” Jerome was standing beside a box that was lying down on a table. Your eyes widened when you saw what it truly was and you suddenly felt nauseous. Your mouth opened just slightly, but it was enough to catch the man’s attention. As Jerome grabbed the large blades, he gave you a slow, small nod, the same kind that you did to him when Jim was knocking on Mr. Cicero’s door.

“Well, Bruce, this won’t hurt a bit.” Jerome clashes the metal together, a loud, reverberating sound that stung your ears. “Is there a doctor in the house?” The crowd laughs at his words, but your head turns once you hear the older man beside you begin to protest, obviously nervous for the boy’s safety. Without any hesitation, Jerome slides the blades through the box, making you flinch. They pull the box apart, showing you - and the man - that Bruce was okay. You let out a sigh of relief involuntarily, matching with the man beside you.

Barbara took Bruce back to his guardian and then stayed put, waiting for Jerome to keep talking. “Now, for this other trick, we’re gonna need a new volunteer!” He shouts, a smile on his face. He pretends to look around before stopping and gasping. “Well, look at that! What’s a gorgeous girl like you doing in a place like this?” Barbara walks a few steps before holding out her hand with a smirk. You try to hide your reaction, but your eyes widen slightly. Is this what he was planning?

Knowing no better way to get out of this, you take her hand. The room watched you two closely and you felt the eyes from Bruce Wayne and his butler watching.

Barbara smiles and begins walking back over to the stage, taking you with her. Both of your heels clicked on the floor, filling the silent room. She let you walk up the stairs first before following after you. You hesitantly make your way towards Jerome, the smile bright as ever on his face. The beard and mask did wonders to hide his identity as you grow closer.

“Who do we have under that mask?” His accent was louder as you neared him. Was this apart of his act? Some sort of trick that he’d ‘guess’ who you were and stun the others?

Jerome circles you once before standing back in front of you, that infamous grin on his face never wavering. He lifts his hand and places it on your chin, turning your head every which way, the exaggerated action producing laughs from the crowd. He hums and takes his hand away, playfully stroking his beard. A quiet, barely audible gasp was heard from the crowd, but you knew that the only people that could hear it was you and Jerome. His smirk widens as the small noise brushes by his ears.

As quick as you could, your eyes dart out to the people, trying to figure out who it was. Your eyes caught the two in the back, Lee now gone from behind them (did Jerome have something to do with that or was she just grabbing a water?), and Bruce’s mouth agape. He mumbled something to the older man as he looks your way, seeming to have recognized who you were, even from behind the mask. The video Jerome made must’ve been aired on the news that night, that’s the only possible way he’d know.

“I think I know ya from somewhere! Yeah.. I think I saw ya on the TV at some point.” Jerome taps his chin as he looks off, pretending to think. “Well, gorgeous,” he walks closer and grabs your hand gently, raising it to his lips and says, “Why don’t’cha stay up here for a while, huh?” He kisses your hand and looks back over at the crowd, shouting out, “Who agrees?” Cheers and hollers are heard from the crowd as Jerome lifts up your arm slightly, showing you off. You feel goosebumps raise on your skin at the attention, deciding to avert your gaze to the man beside you. “You’re gonna love what’s to come, doll face.” Jerome whispers teasingly and leads you toward Barbara, before walking away and asking for the Deputy Mayor to come up to the stage.

You watch carefully as he ghostly trails his fingers over the various knives. You knew what was going to happen, and yet you felt hopeless to stop it.

Finally, when Jerome picks one up, he looks up and smiles devilishly. “By the way, nobody here.. is getting out alive.” The crowd gasps and shouts as Jerome throws the knife, lunging the blade into the mans chest. A chill went down your spine as you watch Jerome shrug and the Deputy Mayor fall to the floor.

Catching you off guard (though, with Jerome, you really shouldn’t be anymore), loud gunshots echo throughout the room. Lights fall and break as people scream and try to flee, only to fail. As you expected, Jerome laughs loudly, tearing off the disguise.

“Finally! This thing is itchy.” He grumbles and scratches his chin and cheeks, light red marks forming, only to disappear a few seconds after. He turns and looks over at you as chaos is still being created. With a sinister grin, he walks over to you and forcefully grabs your hips. “Been waiting to get my hands on ya. Miss the way you feel against me.” He whispers hotly in your ear, making goosebumps form on your skin. He giggles as he finishes speaking, leaning down and leaving a kiss on your neck before moving back to the center stage.

When Jerome lets you go, a change in the corner of your eye made you look over. A gasp left your mouth as you watched Lee be tied up to a wheel. As she fights back, her eyes search the room until they land on you. With the mask still on your face, you didn’t know if she could tell who you were or not. But you were sure that your concerned expression was all she needed to know.

Breaking you out of your daze, Jerome’s voice invaded your ears again. “Sorry, Jimbo, it’s just little ol’ me!” Your eyes widened at the name. He’s talking to Jim? Ignoring your racing heart, you felt a part of it calm down to know that he was okay.

“Are you outside? Oh, you are, aren’t you?” Jerome talks animatedly to the phone that was pressed up to his ear. You only just noticed that he was directly in front of a camera, quickly moving away from him. “Goodie!” He giggles.

There were mumbles from the receiver, but you heard Jim’s voice clearly as he spoke, “I swear to god, if you’ve hurt her,” but the detective didn’t get to finish his sentence as Jerome cut him off.

“Which one?” He smiles and laughs. “See for yourself! This is live television after all!” He turns and walks towards you. “Oh, whoops! Get this thing off your face, doll.” His fingers curl under your mask as he takes it off and throws it haphazardly. His arm wraps around your waist as he brings you close to him. The camera pans over to Barbara as she pretends to shoot Lee.

You hear a faint, “Y/N?” from the other side of the call.

“Huh? You mean my girl right here?” Jerome mocks confusion as he looks over at you, squeezing your hip. “You know her?” He laughs at his own joke, the loud cackle reverberating off the walls.

“You son of a bitch.” Jim’s words were laced with malice as he talked.

“True, but.. not the point.” Jerome shakes his head. He lets you go, not before pressing a kiss to your forehead, for himself and to make Jim more upset, and walks back over to the camera lens. “Lets talk about what I want!” He pauses before listing off, “$47 million dollars, a helicopter, obviously, the dry cleaning I left at Mr. Chang’s, be careful, that man is a crook! And oh, I don’t know.. a pony!” He smiles widely as he knows Jim was getting more agitated as time went by. “You got 10 minutes before I start killing people and, remember, this is being broadcasted to every home in Gotham, so.. ya know, don’t let people die. Bye!” He laughs hysterically into the phone, suddenly coming to a stop as he hangs up the phone. He turns and says, “I think that went well.”

“Enough!” The random voice caught your ears immediately, your eyes scouring the crowd to find where it came from. “You need to pack up your pathetic little side show and leave.” Galavan.

Jerome turns back to the front and smiles, “Is that right?”

Theo walks towards the stage as he speaks, “It may presumptuous to speak for all the citizens of Gotham, but we are sick of you! You’re a small, vicious man with a pathetic need for attention.” Jerome’s smile never falters as he bows proudly. Your eyebrows furrow in confusion at his words, obviously rehearsed and acted out beforehand. What was his plan? Had Jerome been rehearsing this part with him as well and you didn’t know? “Enough, man, enough.”

“I’m curious what you’re leverage is here. Mr…?” Jerome trails off, walking towards the man.

He turns towards the camera and artificially says, “Theo Galavan.” More of his plan seems to reveal itself to you as seconds went by.

“Well, Mr. Theo Galavan, if you don’t sit down,” Jerome moves back some of Galavan’s hair playfully. “I’m going to shoot you.. in the face!” He smiles widely and started to walk away again, towards the crowd.

“I know there is some human decency left in you,” Jerome teasingly points to himself, as if challenging Theo’s words. “If you need to take a hostage, take me. But let these people go home, to their families, to their children,” before he could finish, Barbara came over and hit his head with a hammer.

She sighs, “boring.”

“Right?” Jerome agrees and walks back towards you. Barbara makes her way back to Lee as she argues with her.

“Isn’t this fun, gorgeous?” He smiles widely and grabs your hand, unexpectedly twirling you. He lets you unroll all the way until his fingers straighten out, and then tugs you back into his grasp. You land on his chest as his opposite hand takes home on your hip. “Your heart racing, the adrenaline rush, the feeling of your body on fire, oh! It’s exhilarating.” He laughs and steps in line with you as he repeats his action from earlier, placing your hand on his shoulder as he holds your other palm.

“When you come with me, this is all gonna be ours. Everything, everyone will be under our control, our thumbs.” Jerome’s eyes convey the excitement and the anticipation that he felt in that moment. The way he describes it, the once in a lifetime offer, a promise for an unpredictable and chaotic future that Jerome so desperately craved. And he had picked you to spend it with.

He stepped forward and around as he held you, not caring about the numerous eyes that watched you both, or he just didn’t notice, too caught up with you. His grip tightened quickly as the hand on your hip traveled down to your thigh, suddenly dipping you back. “Promise me somethin’, doll.” He leans down and whispers in your ear, “Never forget me.” He brings you back up in a standing position with a bright smile on his face. His hand travels up in a fast motion, circling around your neck, resting his palm against the skin like he had done earlier. Your breath hitches as he leans down and presses his lips against yours, his fingers ever so slightly digging into your skin. “Show time, toots.” He whispers against your lips with a smile.

Jerome walks back towards the middle of the stage, grabbing the microphone harshly. “Well, I think it’s time for tonights first official victim! You all know and love, poor rich boy, parents murdered in an alley, and my second favorite volunteer.” He smiles teasingly and looks back at you with a wink. “Where is.. Bruce Wayne!” He calls out to the silent room, waiting. He talks into the mic in a softer tone, trying to appeal to the boy to come out of hiding, “Did you know I’m an orphan, too, Bruce? I killed my parents, though. Where are you hiding?” His eyes search the area, before yelling into the mic, “Bruce!”

“Kill his butler.” Barbara suggests, her hands on her hips. She had an angry look on her face, probably from the conversation she had with Lee.

“All right, last chance, Bruce. But it’s about to get very butler brainy out here.” Jerome grumbles and motions toward the older man in the crowd. You watch the situation unfold, unsure of what to do. With the amount of time that had passed, you were positive Jim had made it inside the building. Maybe he had Bruce? You hoped that was the case.

“Eh, I’m bored. Shoot the butler!” Jerome sighs and says in a defeated tone. He was losing his patience and it was obvious.

“Stop!” A yell sounded from the curtain as Bruce sprinted toward his guardian. The man had begun to scold him, before Bruce had whispered something to him. Jerome quickly ran from the stage and forcefully held Bruce, a knife to his throat.

He backed up towards the stage as he smiles. “Let’s get this started, huh?” Jerome giggles and keeps the knife steady against the boys neck.

A gunshot echoed from one side of the building, Jim Gordon making his way through the red curtain. You felt relief wash over you as you saw him, but there was something else you felt in that moment.. something you couldn’t place yet.

“I don’t have a clean shot.” Jim aimed the gun at the murderer, staying as still as possible.

“Stay calm, Bruce.” The older man had told the younger boy, trying to keep the boy’s attention on him.

“Seems like we’ve got ourselves a pickle! What do ya say, Brucey-boy, wanna boost our ratings?” Jerome laughs crazily and presses the blade against the boys pale skin, starting to draw blood. “Smile!”

As you started to rush over to the pair, you were too distracted for the boys safety to realize someone had woken up. With a loud voice, Galavan yelled, “I said enough!”

Jerome begrudgingly let go of Bruce as the boy ran straight off the stage and to his guardian. He turned and faced Theo, only to be met with a blade to his neck. You stood paralyzed as you watched the scene, your mouth agape and goosebumps raised on your skin.

“I know, I know, this is not what we rehearsed.” Theo whispers to Jerome, sinking down to the floor. “I’m so sorry, Jerome. You have real talent, but now you see, the plot thickens, enter the hero.”

Jerome begins to speak, his mouth and teeth covered in blood. “You.. said..” he tries to take in a breath, but it backfires. “That I was gonna be…” Jerome’s words cut themselves short as his eyes dilate tenfold, that sinister smile permanent on his face. Before he lost the battle between living, his iris flash over to you, taking in one last look before becoming lifeless.

What about the future he wanted? The promise he made to you? He was going to be the King of Gotham with you by his side as the Queen. None of it was an option now. None of it made sense without the man that started it all, that had swore to give you what he convinced you that you wanted. What was the point now?

One of the last things he had said to you replayed in your mind like a broken record, “Promise me somethin’, doll. Never forget me.”

You wouldn’t be able to, even if you tried.

#jerome valeska #jerome valeska x reader #cameron monaghan #cameron monaghan x reader #jeremiah valeska x reader #jeremiah valeska #jerome x reader #jerome valeska smut #jerome valeska x you #jeremiah x reader #jeremiah valeska x you #gotham jerome

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luvv4j4ybe11 · 10 months

Text

With time

✧𝐓𝐰𝐢n 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐥𝐨’𝐚𝐤

✧Tw!!: mentions of death,sibling loss, lo’ak dies instead of neteyam, lots of crying, first time celebrating birthday without your twin brother, mentions of su!c!de, underaged dr!nking, mentions of alcohol,mostly angst with some fluff towards the end (if you squint),feelings of grief and depression and I think that’s all, enjoy this lil Drabble<33

✧Dividers by @benkeibear

✧ translation(s): Skxawng-moron,idiot , kuru-queue, hammerbrow fish- the goldfish that kiri was playing with in that one scene (idk how else to describe it😭)

(Listen to this to make it extra sad🥰)

You woke up feeling the weight on your chest being even heavier than usual. Your face still wet with tears from last nights realization. That realization being that today was your birthday but not just yours, it was his too. Ever since the night he died, you haven’t left your side of the marui since.

Even though it’s been four months since your twin brother died, that day just keeps replaying in your head, the sound of your mother screaming, the look of absolute devastation on your older brothers face, the blood on your hands, the sound of tsireya crying, lo’aks cold expression, the way your father looked at you with complete disappointment and spat out a cold, “you’ve done enough”

Every time you thought about it you felt sick.

And naturally, being Navi twins you guys were connected more than normal siblings were, you felt each other’s heartbeats, felt when the other was happy or sad, uncomfortable or frustrated. So when you felt cold and utterly alone, you knew he was gone.

But yet there’s still times you hear his heartbeat, you feel how lonely he is and how much sorrow he’s filed with. And it makes you weak with sadness every time.

Being pulled out of your thoughts by a small pair of hands on your bicep shaking you back and forth, you turn around to see your baby sister staring back at you with a smile on her face, her eyes still washed with sadness. Yes, she was young, but she certainly wasn’t stupid. She knew how to read the room better than kids your age did.

“Sis, come on, get up! It’s your birthday!” She says while climbing onto you to give you a hug, which was something she did every year, but this one was more gentle and genuine than the others. You break the hug to place a hand on her head, lightly ruffling her braids,“Maybe later tuktuk, I’m still a little tired.” You say,weakly trying to hide the pain in your features with a fake smile.

She frowns at this, making you let out a soft chuckle as you go to push her off of you. Making her cling onto you more. “That’s what you always say!, please sis, can you get up? For me? For lo’ak?” She says while looking at you with puppy dog eyes. The slight mention of his name brings tears to your eyes, not ready to start this day without him.

“Sister, leave her be, alright? How about you go see what kiri is up to?” Neteyam says as he lifts the curtain to get into your side of the hut, holding it open for tuk to run out eagerly to find her sister.

Closing it, he glances at you before siting on your sleeping mat, “Sister, I’m-” “Teyam don’t. I can’t go through today with this fake sympathetic bullshit!, you guys were constantly on both of our asses for everything! You guys never cared about how we felt! How he felt! You know how many times he came to me telling me how dad made him feel like shit? Or how kiri was pushing him about certain things? Or how he caught dad talking to you about how he’s, “too reckless” and he “wouldn’t be surprised if he got himself killed”?”

His ears pin back to his skull immediately, knowing the exact conversation you were referring to. “Sister, you think that didn’t bother me too? I told him that lo’ak only acted like that because he wanted to be like him. But of course he didn’t listen. And do you think I wasn’t aware of how you guys felt? Why do you think I’d always have both of your guys backs whenever you got into trouble? Why do you think I came up with lies left and right to mom and dad so you two wouldn’t get your asses beat? I wanted to avoid making you guys feel like that, but I only have so much control y/n..” he says as he squeezes his his fists in anger, his feelings from that night bubbling to the surface again.

You move from your comfortable position to sit next to him, bringing him into a much needed hug. “Brother, I know you did. I know you try every single day. And I look up to you because of that. You’re stronger than I am. You keep pushing forward even though there’s so much shit happening to you, I don’t understand how you do it.” You say as you feel tears flowing from your face, the hug reminding you of how lo’ak used to hug you whenever you were in a mood.

“I do it because of you guys. Because of him. You guys are the reason I keep pushing. And especially the both of your skxawng asses” he says with a soft chuckle before breaking the hug, placing his hand on your head softly, something he did with you and lo’ak that became a comfort thing for the both of you. “You can do this today sister, I believe in you, we all do.” His tone making tears automatically spill over your eyes, and causing you to notice his tear filled eyes.

Looking for some sort of grounding you place your hand over his and squeeze, taking multiple deep breaths before speaking. “Teyam.. I can’t, I miss him so much. Everytime I wake up I feel so alone and cold, but I can still hear his breath, and his heartbeat. My pain is not only mine, but his too.” You say in between sobs, watching neteyams breathing get more shallow as he tries to hold in his tears. His features covered in concern.

“Oh baby sis..” bringing you into another much needed hug. He places a light kiss on your forehead before rubbing your back and gently swaying you from side to side,trying to calm down your cries.

Kiri walks in quietly, the feeling of your pain drawing her to your room. Her whole body goes slack and cold when she sees your state, making her glance at Neteyam. That feeling intensifying even more once she saw the pain in his eyes. She takes her place behind you, quickly inserting herself into the hug. Wrapping her right arm around your waist and the other overlapping with neteyams so she can hold him too,her chin resting on your shoulder.

“You feel him don’t you? His heartbeat? His sorrow? His breath? Like he’s just a word about to be spoken?” Without lifting your head you nod quickly, too mentally exhausted speak anymore. “I know how you feel sister. Take that feeling as a way of him telling you to keep going. Keep breathing for him, keep your heart beating for him. That sorrow will be gone once he sees that you’re living for him.”

Her words make you sob even more. Knowing she’s right, he’s always hated seeing you cry, and he did anything to fix it. Purposely making himself look like a dumbass, making you go on an ikran ride with him, asking you to go exploring with him, taking you to you guys secret spot, pinky promises. He did anything for you. And so did you.

A wave of calm suddenly hits you, making your sobs come to a complete stop, and your breathing becomes more level. Feeling the change, your siblings give each other a confused glance before looking down at you. “Sister?..” they both say in sync as you break the hug and get up, your features going completely cold. “I’m going to visit him..if that’s ok with you guys” you say while lifting up a blanket, revealing a stash of alcohol you’ve been keeping ever since his funeral.

Quickly you take a bottle and cover it back up, grabbing your hunting knife and putting on both you and lo’aks matching bracelets you made on your 10th birthday. Walking towards the curtain to leave, you’re pulled back by a gentle pull on your shoulder.

“Y/n..don’t don’t drink today. It’s not gonna stop you from hurting, and you know that.” Kiri says while gliding her hand down to your hand that was holding the alcohol firmly. “Yeah, I know that kiri, but it dulls it somewhat. And it stops me from wanting to throw myself off of a cliff so I think it’s worth it. Plus it’s my birthday! I’m allowed to drink as much as I want today!!” You say in a fake enthusiastic tone, your sarcasm reminding them so much of lo’ak.

“Y/n.” Neteyam says in a soft but stern tone, the one that told you that whatever he was about to say was gonna be serious. “Don’t drink. I know you’ve been hurting more than we have but we need you here. Lo’ak needs you here. You know how much he hates seeing you hurt.” He says as his voice starts to crack slightly, remembering all the things the three of them would come up with whenever you were anything but happy and content.

Feeling the tears well in your eyes again, you squeeze the bottle tighter, fighting the instinct to drown your feelings in the burning liquid.

Glancing over at them, your heart breaks seeing the genuine hurt on their faces because of the realization you’ve been drinking this whole time and they didn’t know. Sighing angrily,you shove the bottle into neteyams chest. “Fine, but when I get back just save me a bottle, because I know it’ll be gone by the time I come back.” You say while turning out of your room swiftly, leaving kiri and neteyam there speechless.

Once you get to the spirt tree, you thank payakan and tell him that you’ll see him soon. Ever since lo’aks passing you’ve only really left your marui to go see payakan, knowing he carries the same weight as you do.

While swimming towards the tree, you mentally prepare yourself for this painful experience. You’ve been avoiding coming to the tree in the first place, because you knew how much it take out of you. And he knew the same.

Connecting your kuru to the tree, you’re brought to you and lo’aks secret spot back at your actual home. The only place that brought you two comfort. Tentatively, you walk through the clearing, lo’ak still not in sight.

“Lo?, where are you?” You call out, the sound of your own voice making you realize you weren’t 15, but you were younger. Walking towards a curtain of flora that led to a small river, you catch a glimpse of your brother, making you walk quicker.

Once you get there you see lo’ak sitting at the edge of river with his feet languidly swaying in the water, just staring into the water. Almost like he was waiting for something, or someone. You don’t say anything at first, just taking in the sight of him after not seeing him for months.

“Brother..” you say softly, not wanting to disturb his peace. His head whips in the direction of your voice, his expression lighting up as he gets up and walks towards you. “Sister!!, I thought you’d never show!” He says as he takes you into a hug, the sound of his voice making you giggle since he was also his younger self.

“Of course I did, it just took me a little time. You know I’d always come to see your skxawng ass” you say as you break the hug to shove his face with your pointer and middle finger. He giggles at that, his smile making the weight on your chest get lighter.

Grabbing your hand, he guides you to where he was sitting. Taking your seat beside him, you gaze out into the water with him.Nervously playing with your extra finger, you take a breath before talking about what you were avoiding for so long.

“Brother I’m-” you exhale slowly before continuing, noticing out of the corner of your eye how all lo’aks attention was turned to you. “I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t be here. It should’ve been me that got shot that night. I was the one that put the idea into your head to go save spider. I should’ve just told you and teyam to go so I could’ve got spider by myself-” “Sister,” he cuts you off, your rambling making the pain in his heart worse. “It’s not your fault. You need to stop hurting yourself like this. It’s not fair to you. You need to focus on now. Not ‘what if’. And plus, It’s not like I would’ve listened to you if you told me to go anyway, there’s no way in hell I’d let that happen.”

Both of you giggle at the last part, knowing that he’s not lying. Once your laughs die down, you look down at your hands, that feeling of guilt still lingering in your chest. Glancing over at you, he notices how you’re playing with your pinkies, a telltale sign that told him something was bothering you.“Sister, what else is it?” He says as he leans back onto his hands, noticing how your shoulders slightly go stiff from his question.

Turning your body to face him, you don’t fail to notice the genuine look of concern in his eyes. “You know what day it is today?” You ask, making his expression completely drop. “Yeah, I know.” The words feeling like a weight on his tongue. “I don’t know how I’m gonna do today without you lo’. I can’t. It hurts too much.” You say as the tears finally spill over your face, the grief crawling back up your throat once again. “No, y/n, you can and you will. For me. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean you can’t live out there. Live for me, y/n. Stop letting yourself be consumed by grief and guilt. I hate seeing you like this and you know that.” He says sternly, making sure you know he’s being serious.

All you do is nod your head, not trusting your voice with the lump in your throat and the never ending tears that keep falling from your eyes. The sight of your hurting form makes lo’aks heart twist in pain. And the fact he couldn’t really do much hurt even more. “Come here, sis,” Placing his hand on your shoulder he pulls you towards him. Giving you a much needed hug, immediately making you sob into the crook of his neck.

“I miss you, twin” he says while resting his chin on your shoulder, letting the tears fall freely from his eyes. You let out a broken, “i miss you more” as the void in your chest grows the longer you two hug.

Once you finally calm down,you break the hug, now seeing each other how you guys remember. “Well shit..” you both say in sync, making you both laugh. “You look so grown. I don’t like it.” Lo’ak says as he admires you a little longer, a feeling of peace swirling in his chest. “Yeah,me neither” you say in a soft tone, once again feeling guilty for moving on without him with you.

Placing left hand on your head, and his right on your shoulder he looks at you with a soft smile on his face, “Y/n,you’ll be ok. I’ll always be watching you, and I’ll always protect you.” The tone of his voice making you inhale sharply so the next wave of tears doesn’t come. He raises his pinky finger towards you, waiting for you to do the same. You let out a soft chuckle at his childish behavior before obliging.

Once both of you pinkies are holding onto one another, he grips your shoulder tighter. “Promise me, that you won’t give up on yourself, that you won’t push everyone away, that you won’t drink your feelings away. Promise me that you can get over this feeling. That you will live through this feeling.”

You squeeze his pinky even tightly as you feel the tears well up in your eyes, realizing that time will make no difference to how much you miss him. But it will for how much you will grow through this feeling.

Tugging his pinky towards yours, you nod your head ‘yes’ before saying, “I promise. I promise I’ll do my best for you. I promise that I’ll try for you.” The words making a smile appear on his face. He brings you into a loving hug, the warmth of comfort washing over both of you guys.

“Happy birthday,twin” you guys say in sync again, a soft giggle coming from both of you. Breaking the hug, he grabs your hands and squeezes them tightly “ow! That hurts!” “I don’t care! I want you to have fun for me today alright? Celebrate us! Spend time with everyone that loves you and gives a shit about you. You deserve it!” he says through his laughs, making you smile softly at his childish demeanor.

“Alright I will!! I’ll come visit you again tonight and I’ll tell you all about today!” You say in a giddy tone, noticing that this has been the first time you’ve been somewhat happy since these last 4 months.

“You better” he says while rolling his eyes dramatically, knowing he did it to make you laugh. Once your laughter dies down, you both look back at the water. Not wanting this moment to end already. “I love you,bro” you say while bumping your shoulder against his, making him laugh and do the same to you. “I love you more,sis” he says with a soft smile on his face, one that replaced the one on yours.

You two stay like this for a while, just basking in each others presence and invading each others space. Thoughts of leaving suddenly crowd your head and the second those thoughts occur, your brother says something about it.“Y/n go spend the day with them. You know how they get on our birthday, plus they’ll make you feel better.” He says in a delicate tone, a soft smile on his face from remembering how much they loved celebrating your birthdays. You sigh softly, before reluctantly standing up.

He gets up with you, bringing you into an affectionate hug. Without breaking it, he whispers “I’ll miss you,sister.” With complete sadness laced in his tone. A tear falls from your face from the sound of his voice,“I’ll miss you more than you’ll ever know, brother.” You two stay like this for a while, until it starts getting harder to breathe, a harsh reminder of the truth.

Breaking the hug, you give him a look that lets him know that, making him hesitantly let go of you. “I’ll see you later tonight brother, I promise. I love you!” You say while turning around to leave, hearing him let out a little ‘I love you, too’ before you leave.

Once you reach the surface you catch your breath, calling out to your ilu and mentally going over your interaction with your brother to avoid acknowledging that void in your chest.

It’s a peaceful ride back home, until you start getting in your head about ‘having fun’ today without lo’ak. Because it wasn’t just your birthday, but his too. And celebrating without him just doesn’t feel right, even tuk knows that.

But right when you start having those doubts, a group of hammerbrow fish swarm around you and your ilu, stopping you in your tracks. One of them swims up to your face and flicks your forehead, making you furrow your brows and shove it away. They swim around you and you ilu for awhile longer before leaving, one of them staying back a little longer to look at you.

The whole interaction left you with a smile on your face, knowing that it was definitely lo’ak telling you to calm down, and to stop worrying about unnecessary things. Making hope swirl in your chest.

With time, you know you’ll be okay.

A/N~ this took SO LONG to write oh my fucking god. But we made it!! And I hope you guys enjoyed this (and this is my first angst fic so pls cut me some slack if some phrasing gets repetitive😔) because I did, didn’t enjoy the tears I cried while writing this but it was worth it🩷 if you made it to the end and you’re reading this I wanna thank you so much for reading this whole long ass fic, must really love me huh😏?? LMFAOO but anyway! Otw to write for kinkmas now🏃🏽‍♀️💨

Duces🫶🏽,

Luvv4j4ybe11

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mssorceressupreme · 3 months

Note

hi again i was the one who asked for the last one. ty n i loved it, I actually loved the end ty for that as well!! ALSO SRRY I GOT SHY REQ IT SO IT WAS HALF BAKED so imma req a nice fluff one 😭

so fem!reader is a cold person who always had a mean and stoic look on her face since arriving in the box. after a while of living there, her attitude hasnt changed much, even ridiculing the other boys over small little things like their lingo, but the other gladers took notice that she is MUCH nicer to minho than the others. ofc minho doesn’t notice since hes so busy with the maze. so one bonfire night, reader gets tipsy and drunkenly confesses to minho, which leaves reader flustered upon realizing what she did and minho too since hes shared the same feelings. how it ends is up to you im indecisive lol.

ty in advance!!!

glad I could satisfy ur prompt love 🥰🥰 HAHAHA girl don’t even worry, I love it when u guys send requests!! keep em coming 🥹🫶🏼 also this is such a cute prompt, who doesn’t love Minho honestly 😩🤌🏼

——

That’s Enough

Pairing: Minho x Reader

Summary: cold and stoic on the outside, you had built a wall to protect yourself. But what happens when that wall is broken one night and you find yourself doing things you never would’ve done before. Things like dancing sensually in front of the gladers, and oh boy, a confession.

Warnings: subtle sexualisation of reader, spice if you squint but not really

——

Life in the glade had made you tougher than you ever were. From the moment you arrived, you decided that the only way to survive was to keep everyone at a distance. Ultimately, you figured that the only way for you to do this was to put in a cold, mean and stoic exterior, and it worked.

To your victory, the boys left you alone, wary of your sharp tongue and icy demeanour. Well, for the most part at least. The gladers still teased you on the odd occasion, but it wasn’t to an extreme extent.

There were only a handful who managed to break through the ice wall you had built. Alby, Newt, and Fry to name a few. Oh, and Minho.

Though you had barely interacted because he was always out in the maze, every time you did, it felt like time had stopped. There was something about him that drew you in, you were like a moth to a flame.

Or perhaps not a flame, he was more like honey? You wanted to taste him, to confide in him, have him be the first person he embraces when he returns from the maze.

You admired him in silence every time he returned from the maze, panting, the way the sunlight reflected on his sweat, giving him a healthy glow. The way he gave orders to other runners, his bravery, authority, the leadership skills he possessed, and not to mention how he was such a gentleman.

But you would never dare admit that aloud, not to anyone. You would take this to your grave with you if you could.

——

“Better not klunk your pants greenie!” Gally teased the new dark haired greenie. He wore a light blue shirt and greyish-green cargos.

The greenie furrowed his brows at Gally, “Stop calling me greenie.”

You paused from helping Newt in the garden and walked over to them. “Remember when you first entered the maze because you wanted to be a runner but ran back out immediately because you klunked your pants, Gally? I do. Let me also remind you that—”

“Alright! I get it,” Gally interjected, “just teasing the greenie that’s all.” He scoffed, raising his hands in the air while he dispersed.

You turned to the newbie, “I’m sure he has a decent side. Give him time.”

The greenie stood still, “Thanks.”

“Ignore his use of slang, some terms are pretty weird, took a while to get use to them myself.” You confessed.

“Like?”

“Lately, Gally’s been obsessed with using ‘klunk’, just means poop. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it in no time.”

He listened intensely, trying to grasp how life in the glade worked. You explained a few more terms before deciding it was time to get back to work.

As you were about to return to the other track-hoes, the greenie called out, “Wait-uh, what’s your name?”

“Y/N.”

“Thomas,” he introduced himself, “Good to know there’s someone with a brain around here.”

The both of you shared a moment of laughter, before you saw caught a glimpse of the runners returning from their daily exploration. Your gaze softened, there he was, Minho.

Your eyes followed him until they disappeared, heading to the runners hut. You inhaled, “I should get back to work.”

“How can I be of help?” Thomas asked, ready to take on any task.

“Oh, no no, you should rest up Thomas. It’s bonfire night tonight, we throw a celebration for the greenie each month, this month that’s you. Last month it was me, the month before it was Chuck, and next month it’ll be someone else.”

He nodded slowly, “I see.”

“See you tonight then, greenie.” You teased, both of you sharing another moment of laughter. From then, you knew that Thomas would be another glader who managed to get past your wall.

——

It was a rare night of celebration, a bonfire crackling in the centre of the glade, casting a warm luminary light and shadows.

You sat with Newt, Alby, Frypan, and Thomas, a cup of homemade brew in your hand. You weren’t much of a drinker but tonight you felt the need to let loose a little.

The alcohol loosened your usual defences, and you found yourself laughing and joking with more gladers, a far cry from your typical aloof self.

Across the bonfire, Minho mingled with the other runners, including Ben. You stole glances at him, feeling a flutter in your chest every time you saw his face illuminated by the firelight.

“You should talk to him.” Newt encouraged, leaning over.

You shook your head, “He doesn’t see me as anything! I don’t like him that way…plus we barely interact.”

“You’re kidding, it’s so obvious. Everyone knows that you have a soft spot for him.”

Your cheeks began to heat up, “Whatever Newt.” You brush him off and he shrugs in defeat.

As the night progressed, you had more, and more, and more to drink. It made you bold, you were laughing louder, throwing more jokes around, being unintentionally physical with other gladers—touching their shoulder while laughing or throwing occasional light punches.

“Come on, let’s not sit down all day! My butt’s getting numb!” You ushered the boys to stand up and let loose.

Everything was a blur but you cherished every second of it, you saw a tall and wide stump from a tree the builders had just cut down. Feeling daring, you stood on the stump and began dancing sensually.

You closed your eyes and cheered, getting lost in the moment. “Come dance with me!”

The boys stood by the stump, cheering you on and whistling. Obviously enjoying this newly unveiled side of you, and not to mentioned some of them got turned on by the way you moved.

“WOOOHOO!!!” You cheered, practically shrieking but everyone joined in. This might have been the most entertaining bonfire for them.

You felt powerful, free from the fear that usually kept you guarded. But then you caught sight of Minho, his expression darkening as he watched you.

Brushing it off, you continued indulging in your dance, earning excited roars from the gladers.

Minho gave Ben his drink, and pushed through the crowd towards you. Before you could react, Minho was at your side, lifting you effortlessly and slinging you over his shoulder.

The boys’ cheers turned into laughter and catcalls, but you were too tipsy to care.

“That’s enough,” Minho growled, carrying you toward your hammock. His grip firm and unyielding.

You giggled, finding the whole situation funny. “Minho, you’re so strong,” you teased, your voice flirtatious.

“You’re drunk.” He remarked, still carrying you.

“Put me down now!” You demanded, “I want to continue dancing with the others, pleaseee!”

He sighed, ignoring your request, “No.”

A thought crossed your mind and you smirked, “Are you jealous? Was I having too much fun with other people and not you?”

“What? No!” He retorted, tightening his grip on you.

“You’re mean,” you pouted, “I’ve liked you for so long but you always ignore me. Always out in the maze and never with me.”

He paused for a moment, “You’re drunk Y/N, save your thoughts for later.”

You leaned against him, your fingers tracing patterns on his arm. “Why don’t you love me?”

When he set you down, you stumbled slightly but he caught you, stabilising you and laying you gently on your hammock.

Minho froze, his eyes widening slightly before he continued, “Who said I didn’t?” He response confident while he tucked you in.

“I love you.” You muttered, shutting your eyes as you shifted comfortably into your pillow.

“You love me?”

You nodded, your heartbeat getting heavier and louder as the alcohol-fueled confidence began to wane. You were reverting back to your normal self.

“I do. I always have, Minho. There’s something about you…” you cut yourself off, loosing confidence as you started to gain further consciousness.

He stared at you, eyes scanning your flushed face, to him, it was the sweetest sight in the world, “I didn’t know,” He began, and your heart dropped, “I feel the same way about you.” What?

A rush of emotions surged through you, causing to you to jerk up, “You do?”

He nodded, “I do. I’ve just been so busy with the maze, I never realised….”

Before he could finish, you closed the distance between you, standing up to meet him. You pressed your lips to his in a kiss that was both tender and passionate. Minho’s arms wrapped around you, pulling you closer till your bodies pressed against each other. His lips moved against yours with a fervour that took your breath away.

When you finally broke apart, your breaths mingled in the cool night air. “Stay with me tonight,” you whispered, voice filled with longing.

He guided you towards his hammock, as it was slightly larger, able to fit two people. You snuggled against him, feeling the warmth of his body and the steady beat of his heart.

“I can’t believe I confessed like that,” you murmured, a blush creeping up your cheeks as you nuzzled your face into his chest.

Minho chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest, “It’s okay,” he stroked your hair gently, “I’m glad you did. I’ve wanted to tell you how I feel for so long.”

“It’s just…I know I come off as tough and aloof, but truth be told…I’m scared…” you confessed.

“Being the only girl must be really hard. I tried to, but I should’ve done more to protect you,” He continued stroking my hair softly, “You’re going to be okay Y/N, I’m sure of it.”

“I’ve been keeping my distance for so long, trying to protect myself, but…I don’t want to do that anymore. Not with you.” You made your new intentions known.

Minho’s arms tightened around you, “You don’t have to anymore. I’ll keep you safe.” He hummed.

You looked up at him, eyes shining as the moonlight casted a perfect ray over the two of you, “I love you, Minho.”

“I love you too,” he whispered, before planting a kiss on my forehead, “And I promise, I’ll always be here for you.”

As you drifted off to sleep in Minho’s arms, the fear and loneliness that had haunted you since arriving in the glade melted away. For the first time, you felt truly at home, knowing that you were loved and cherished by one person who mattered most.

The bonfire’s glow and buzz from the other gladers softened in the distance, a warm reminder of the night that had changed everything.

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eitaababe · 2 years

Note

hello! <3 can i please request a neteyam x metkayina!reader oneshot where reader is apprehensive about choosing a mate, she knows everyone expect her to choose asap but prefers the idea of being friends with the person first (having a hard time trusting people easily/opening up). one day, after realizing her feelings for neteyam, she talks to him about this and he says something like “i’d always wait for you”. i’m so sorry if this is too specific, i have a thing for the concept of patient love/slowburn.

(also your writing is so beautiful, i’m in love with everything you post and always look forward for your works.)

TAKE YOUR TIME !

neteyam x metkayina! reader.

a/n — yo this took me forever to finish like i STRUGGLED IM SO SORRY 😭😭 / but SLOWBURNS >>> THEYRE JUST TOO GOOD MAN / also tysm nonnie giving you big smooches

! characters are aged up a few years for sake of plot

—

When the Sully's arrived to awa'atlu, Tsireya practically begged you to help her and her brother teach them your clan's ways. So you agreed, and like her, took a quick liking to one of the brothers.

You slowly grew closer to Neteyam, spending more and more time that started out with helping him breathe correctly, to how to ride his ilu, to eventually just being with him because you enjoyed his presence.

The two of you were currently sitting on the sand underneath a tree, his back to you as he sat in front of you, you re-braiding his hair. "He's just so- ugh! I just don't get why he is so obsessed with making my siblings feel so unwelcome." Neteyam complained, hissing when you pulled too hard.

"For eywa's sake, Neteyam. If I hear you complain about Ao'nung one more time, I'm going to rip my own eardrums out," You sighed, tsking when his hand grabbed your wrist from tugging hard. "Don't be such a baby, you asked me to redo your braids."

Opening his mouth to complain again, Kiri came in, interrupting you two. "Hey Y/n, I think your parents are looking for you."

Silently thanking eywa, Neteyam grinned, shaking his hair out. Kiri looked at her brother in amusement, breaking out into laughter. "You look so stupid, with your hair half done."

"Whatever, I'm going to mom to ask her to finish it for me. Find me once you're down, yeah?" He looked to you, softly rubbing your shoulder as a farewell.

"I will," you assured him, waving bye to his sister as well.

You entered your own marui, greeting your parents. "Oel ngati kameie."

Your parents nodded, gesturing you to come closer. "Daughter, we have something very important to address."

You sat down across from them, wearing a confused look.

"As you know, you're getting older," you nodded slowly, still confused. "Soon enough, you will need to find a mate. We talked to Ruto's parents, and we believe you two would make a fine match."

You shook your head in disagreement. "Father, I barely know Ruto. I've talked to him only once."

"Yes, but he is the son of one of our best hunter's in the clan. He would provide well for you."

"Please," you begged, looking to your mother for help. "Let me choose someone on my own."

Your parents shared a look, sighing as they turned to you. "Fine, we'll let you choose your own mate. But make it quick. We'll be waiting, and if you can't find someone, we'll talk to Ruto's parents about our agreement again."

You left the marui without another word.

Keeping your promise, you still went to the Sully family's marui, clearly shaken. Of course, the idea of being mated was something you thought about frequently, but the pressure of finding one soon so you wouldn't be set up with a stranger was all too much.

Collecting yourself, you called out to the family, Tuk immediately running up to you. "Y/n!" She giggled happily as you picked her up, hugging her close.

"Hi Tuktuk," you chuckled, eyes wandering to her hand, small fingers grasping a band of beads. She reached out to you, offering them. "What's this?"

"I made it for you!" You let her put it on your wrist, and thanked her, carrying her with you as you made your way towards Neteyam and his mother, who was just about finished with his hair.

"Hi y/n." Neytiri greeted, finishing up on her son's last braid. Upon hearing your name, Neteyam quickly looked up, smiling at the sight of you.

"Y/n!" He happily chirped, his eyes wandering towards your wrist. The bead pattern on your bracelet was matching to the one on his necklace, and you both shared a grin at the realization.

Tuk grinned proudly when the both of you shared a look at your matching jewelry, and jumped from your arms to her mothers embrace.

Getting up, Neteyam waved to his mother. "I'll be back before eclipse."

Nodding towards her son, and then you, the two of you made your way out the marui, walking along the shore.

"So, what did your parents want?"

Your smile faded at the mention of your parents. "They want me to pick a mate soon. They're so excited that they've already chosen someone."

"What? Who?" Neteyam panicked, eyes boring into yours.

"Ruto," you glumly replied. "I convinced them to give me some time though. To pick someone I want, not something that's set up. But I really don't have much time."

"Ruto?" he scoffed in disapproval. "He's got the personality of a rock," he joked, smiling when you faintly laughed. "My dads talked to me about the same thing. I just don't really know everyone on the island all that well, you know?"

"I'm sure you'll find someone," you comforted, a small wave crashing before your feet. "There's many beautiful metkayina women here. Sungia is one of the best healers I've seen. Ikla has a beautiful voice. Ezo is also a great dancer-"

"Easy there," Neteyam cut you off, slapping a hand over your mouth to shut up. Licking his palm, he pulled away, wiping his hand on your arm. "Ew! You're like Lo'ak when you do that."

"Maybe next time you shouldn't put your hand on my mouth, then." You laughed. "I was just saying, there's plenty of wonderful girls here. The men, whoever..."

"Don't fret. We'll find you a big, strong, hunter with a personality so you don't end up with Ruto the rock." He teased, lazily wrapping his arm around you and pulling your hair lightly, making you smack him in the stomach.

"Stop messing with my hair, you skxawng!"

Tuk and Neytiri watched the two of you from the marui, silently hoping the two of you would come to your senses soon.

The next few days went by, and you found yourself laying on Tsireya, complaining. "Eywa hates me!" You groaned, glaring up at the girl when she laughed at your declaration. "It isn't funny, Reya."

"It's a little funny, admit it."

"No it's not! My parents are going to force me to mate with this weird guy if I don't find anyone! I just don't get it, Eywa practically handed you Lo'ak, you have nothing to worry about. All the boys on this island are boring or like your brother."

Eyes widening at the dig at Ao'nung, Tsireya didn't scold you for it. "I mean, I'm not saying you're wrong," she softly threaded her hands through your hair as you let out another sigh. "But there has to be someone. What about Neteyam?"

You shot up like a rocket, rapidly shaking your head. "Absolutely not. No. I couldn't even- no. We're just friends."

"You are a terrible liar." Tsireya blankly stated, blinking at you.

"I'm not lying!"

"Have you seen the way you two look at each other? It's like you're in love. No one who is just friends looks at someone like that."

"Look," you started, pushing the thoughts of you and Neteyam as far as you could. "Even if I decided I liked him. That's if. If I did, his father wants him to be mated soon as well. He's Neteyam, I doubt he would settle for someone like me."

"Oh Y/n," Tsireya cooed, grasping your hand lightly. "Don't do that. Do not discount yourself. You are one of the most beautiful women on this island, anyone would be lucky to be your mate. Especially Neteyam."

Smiling gratefully at her, you didn't like the feeling that bubbled up when you pictured being with Neteyam. "Oh whatever. You're just pushing me towards Neteyam because you already like the family." You teased, laughing harder when her cheeks turned purple at the subtle mention of Lo'ak.

You can't help but let the thought of you and Neteyam linger the next few days. Yes, you enjoyed his company, but could you really spend the rest of your life as his mate?

You avoided him, denying that you could ever feel about him in that way. Denying that you shuddered at his touch, that you loved the way his eyes looked, that you loved how he talked, how he-

Ripping you from your thoughts, a pair of arms wrapped around you. "Hi y/n." Your favorite voice spoke, bringing a smile to your face.

"Hi 'Teyam." Yoy cheerfully replied, worries from before now long forgotten.

"You okay?" he asked, a concerned look in his eyes. "You looked like you were deep in thought."

"I'm fine," you assured, brought back to your harsh reality. "Just-"

"Trying to figure out who you could tolerate as a mate?"

You chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Then c'mon, let's go find someone."

Your protests against the idea of spying around the island to look for boys were quickly tossed aside. He was determined to find someone for you, and you couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that he wanted to find someone for you so soon.

"Rotxo!" Neteyam called out, waving over at the boy. You rolled your eyes, but following the boy as he walked over towards Rotxo.

"Y/n, Neteyam, what are you two up to?"

"Nothing much," you smiled flatly, giving Neteyam a knowing look. "Just walking around the beach, showing him around the island."

"Ah, well, have fun! Let me know if you two need anything."

You both thanked him as you said your farewells and walked away, Neteyam glancing down at you multiple times. "...no?"

"No."

You continued on with your hunt, opting to look from afar rather than engage in a conversation with every boy you saw. You smiled and nodded at guys who didn't seem too bad, but you were silent for the most part. Neteyam wasn't dumb, you may not have been the closest but he could tell something was off. "Hey, we really don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"No, it's- it's fine," you quietly reassured him, letting a moment of silence pass by as you bit the inside of your cheek. "I'm just scared, you know? I'm going to be mated off with someone who I barely even know. Who I'm not even friends with. What if- what if I don't love him? What if he doesn't love me?" You worried, not realizing how Neteyam gently grasped your hand, squeezing it in comfort.

"Hey, you're going to be fine, alright? If you don't want to meet anyone new, maybe you'll grow to be fond of Ruto, and he'll learn to love you. Or maybe you'll even find someone else when you least expect it. But I'll always be here for you, you know that?"

Your heart clenched at the reminder of Ruto, and the limited time you had. You smiled wordlessly up at him, squeezing his hand back. "Thank you, Neteyam."

"Anytime."

Yet you can't help but feel as though everything won't be fine.

With your time running out and no new candidates, you settle for trying to get to know Ruto. You really have no clue where to start, but you find him on his ilu, probably coming back from a hunt.

"Ruto!" You called out, his head snapping up at response of his name. His eyes land on your own and you freeze, not knowing what to do when he sends a small smile your way, and starts heading over towards you.

You begin to panic, rethinking your decisions. What were you even thinking? You barely know him, he's probably just as confused as you are.

Before you can succumb to the rest of your thoughts, an unfamiliar voice snaps you out of it. "Hey, y/n," the boy greets, towering over you, piercing yellow eyes burning i to your own. "What's up?"

"Uhm-" you stutter, swallowing down your suddenly very dry throat. "Just walking around. Wanted to see what you were up to."

Ruto hums, nodding once he finally understands why you came to him. "This is about our- arrangement, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, that's it's all so awkward. Truth be told I wasn't for it either, but my parents were so insistent," he laughs at you when you groan in frustration. "How about this. We'll get to know each other. And if you really don't want to go through with this, we'll talk to them together."

You take a moment, considering his offer. There was no downside, really, at least for you. One hand, you make your parents and everyone else happy by finding a mate, or you get what you really want, a chance to finally get to know somebody, and take your time in choosing.

"Deal."

You and Ruto spent the next couple days together practically every minute, choosing activities that the other enjoyed, and learning more about each other the more you were together. Your parents were pleased at the interaction and word around the village traveled fast, everyone chattering about how you finally found 'the one'.

Neteyam ended up finding out the news from Lo'ak. Yes, it was his idea, but he couldn't help the way his heart sank when everyone was talking about you and your new mate, and how he was able to confirm the news with his own eyes when he spotted you two.

He sat in his family's marui, quieter than usual. Kiri and Lo'ak quickly noticed, exchanging knowing looks. "If you scrunch your face like that any longer, it's going to be permanent."

"Shut up, Lo'ak."

"I'm just saying. He's had that god awful pout on his face the past few days, it's bringing my mood down. What's wrong?"

Glaring his sibling's way, Neteyam only shook his head, eyes averting to the ocean. "Nothing's wrong."

"Something seems pretty wrong to me," Lo'ak stated, shrugging and leaning back casually. "Ever since y/n has been out and about with Ruto lately you seem all alone and missing her company and-"

The younger brother paused, mouth agape while his hand flies to cover it. "OH EYWA! You like y/n!"

"You are so slow sometimes, Lo'ak," Kiri rolled her eyes in annoyance, looking to Neteyam who seemed just about as surprised as his brother. "Don't tell me- you just realized too?"

She took his silence as a yes and pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing at both her brothers stupidity. "Neteyam, you cannot. She's betrothed to Ruto."

"I know." He replied quietly.

"And her parents aren't likely to change their minds."

"I know."

"And she actually seems to be enjoying his company lately."

"I know."

"So you better hurry up and tell her how you feel."

"I kn- wait, what?" Neteyam cut himself off, head swiveling to face the two. They only shrugged, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "I can't just- just go and tell her how I feel."

"Why not? I mean really, what do you have to lose. If it doesn't work out then she ends up with Ruto anyways."

"You're not making me feel any better."

"Just go!"

So, like a man on a mission, Neteyam hurried to find you, only to see you with Ruto once more. He pauses mid-stride, wondering if this is really the best way to go about it. But in a moment of courage he acts on instinct, approaching you two.

You speak first, and when your laugh turns silent he can't help but feel as if he's intruding. "Neteyam? What's going on?"

"I just-" he stops himself, seeing Ruto stand next to you. He sees the way you two look together, almost perfect. Your beauty matches his own looks, and in no doubt would he provide well for you. His heart hammers in his chest, and cowardly, he averts the topic. "I was wondering if you've seen Ezo. I was thinking of taking you and my father's advice about reaching out to other women on the island."

"Oh," you quietly exclaimed, clearing your throat for whatever reason. "She was by the reef with Rotxo, last time I saw her."

He quickly thanked you and walked off, missing the way your face fell, and how Ruto was quick to console you.

"I guess I was wrong," you softly spoke, now sitting with both Tsireya and Ruto. Their eyes held sympathy for you, trying their best to help you in this complicated situation. "I mean, I really thought I had it all figured out. Me and Ruto were going to tell our parents that it isn't going to happen with us, and that I want to take it slow with someone I had in mind. And then he just- drops this on me!"

Tsireya rubs her hand on your shoulder in comfort, feeling sorry for her best friend. "Well- maybe it didn't even go well between them. For all we know, he could hate Ezo right now."

"Nobody hates Ezo." You state, Ruto quietly agreeing but still earning a glare from Tsireya.

"Maybe, just maybe, you should tell Neteyam how you feel anyways. He's looking for other women, but he's blind to the one just in reach."

"I don't know-" You start to protest, almost immediately getting cut off by both Ruto and Tsireya.

"No," they start, Ruto speaking up after. "You're going to tell Neteyam how you feel. Stop sulking on your butt and go get your man."

You whine and stomp your feet, childlike, before finally getting up. "Fine, I'm going. If this all goes wrong I'm blaming you both."

"Looking forward to it. Have fun!"

You wander along the sand, looking out of place and feeling more uncomfortable as more time passes. You try to spot Neteyam's dark blue skin, but to no avail, are unable to find him amongst the crowd of metkayina men.

Walking aimlessly and just about to give up on your search, you finally see him with Ezo, which is unsurprising. You can't decide if you should greet them, hide behind a tree, or hope that the ocean swallows you whole at any given moment. You opt for the latter, standing there awkwardly.

Neteyam greets you before you can say anything, and they both walk to you, and you decide to meet them halfway. They both wear a wide grin, and the sight feels like someone stabbed a dagger through your chest.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were with Ruto." Neteyam curiously piped up, making your chest throb even more when you think, he doesn't even want to see you.

"He just had some duties," you lie, shrugging carelessly. "I was just walking along here before I go back to my marui. What were you two up to?" You asked, hoping you wouldn't regret it.

"Well we spent most of the day together," Neteyam answered you, the truth making it feel like someone was slowly chipping away at your heart. "We swam and went on rides with the ilus..." he kept telling you about their day, but you stopped listening, zoning out.

We, we, we. It was funny how such a small word could cause you so much pain.

"Well that's lovely!" You faked a smile, blinking rapidly before tears would fall down your face. You turned away hastily, making your way in the opposite direction while yelling a jumble of words. Something along the lines of, "Wouldn't want to be in the way, see you later!"

Your face burns with embarrassment, thinking you could just march up and tell Neteyam that you want him, and he would willingly accept you. You think you got away, and then you hear him run up from behind you, making you shut your eyes tightly and hope he won't notice the red in your eyes.

"Y/n?" He called out worriedly, turning you around to face him, your eyes opening involuntarily. Ezo is nowhere to be seen, yet you really can't find it in you to care all that much. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Neteyam questions, on making you want to cry harder.

"So much," you croak, trying to stop your voice from cracking as you continued to talk. "So much is wrong. I'm such a mess. I met Ruto and I became friends with him but I can't even get myself to like him, and then I feel like everything's hopeless, and that I won't find someone I like here and then I meet you," you sniffle, wiping your nose with the back of your hand, "and for the longest I can't comprehend what I feel for you and by the time I realize it's too late because you've already went off and found another girl."

"Hey," he soothes, head dipping down so his eyes can meet your own. "Who says I don't feel the same way about you?"

"Even if you did," you cried out hopelessly, all your pent up feelings unraveling in front of the one person you didn't want it to. "You'd have to wait so long. I don't- I don't want to rush into this. It's tedious, having to wait for someone like me when there's girls like Ezo who are ready for you now."

"There's nothing tedious about waiting for the girl you want to be ready," Neteyam spoke softly still, his thumb rubbing against the inner part of your forearm. "And I don't want girls like Ezo," he laughed, his other hand cupping your cheek. "I want you."

Before you even have the chance to protest, or come up with some dumb excuse or reason why you aren't fit for him he presses his lips to yours, deeming it the best way to shut you up. His lips mold against yours almost perfectly, and he finally pulls away, his smile brighter than any stars in the sky. "I only want you," he whispers, lips brushing against yours once more.

"So take your time, alright?"

—

a/n — anyways hope u enjoyed <33

#— requests !#— answered #neteyam sully #avatar x reader #avatar #avatar fluff #neteyam #neteyam fluff #neteyam sully x you #neteyam x reader #neteyam angst #neteyam fic #neteyam imagine #avatar angst #avatar fic #avatar neteyam #neteyam scenario

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restinslices · 3 months

Note

Could you possibly do a scenario where the reader goes to Johnny and asks him for romantic advice because she has a crush on Kitana or Mileena? “Man I’m desperate, I had no idea who else to ask.” Type of scenario.

This kinda short. It only has 1101 words and idk if I fully like this but fuck it, we ball. Idk why I’m so bad at fluff😭

Content Warning: Johnny

The word “crush” was typically used by children. Almost everyone has had a crush in their younger years. Someone in their class, or a random person in a hall, or someone in a higher grade level. Even celebrity crushes are usually talked about by younger people. Because of this, people tended to foolishly think that having a crush would no longer be a thing when they got older.

You were one of those people. Unfortunately, you found out that that way of thinking was false.

You hoped it was simply attraction when it came to Kitana, but the more time you spent together, the more you realized it went beyond that. Everything about her was perfect. Her hair, her smile, the way she’d scoff when hearing something stupid, her need to protect her family and defend the innocent. That was just a small list of what made Kitana amazing.

You groaned and put your head in your hands. You were so pathetically in love with her and had no idea if she’d ever feel the same way about you.

”I’m almost done with the story. Relax” Johnny elbowed your arm and smiled at you. For weeks you debated on whether or not you should ask someone for advice. It couldn’t be Liu Kang, because that felt like asking a parent. Kung Lao and Raiden were busy training new recruits, so you didn’t wanna bother them. Any other allies like Syzoth, Ashrah, Kuai Liang and Tomas were busy with other things. Bi-Han… well… you couldn’t ask him for obvious reasons. You probably wouldn't have even if he hadn’t betrayed everyone.

That left you with one other option that was in Earthrealm. Johnny Cage.

Pros? Johnny had plenty of experience with romance, so he had to have some sort of advice.

Cons? Johnny is Johnny. Johnny tends to blab about his movies, like he was doing now. To be fair to him though, you hadn’t worked up the courage to admit you wanted his help. It just seemed strange to have to ask for help with a crush as an adult.

You lifted your head and looked at him. You don't know what he saw on the other side of his shades -or why he was wearing shades indoors- but it must've tipped him off that something was wrong.

“I have a feeling you're not worried about whether or not the movie had a happy ending”. You rolled your eyes at his joke. You hadn't even been listening the whole time he was talking.

“Absolutely not”. Johnny leaned back against the couch and sucked his teeth.

“You sure?”

“Positive” He booed at you, which made you swat his arm. “I got serious shit I need help with”. He looked at you as if saying “go on”. So you did before you'd say nevermind and run out of there. You let it all spill out. How much you liked Kitana, how you had no idea how to make a move on her and other pathetic sounding things that came out before you could stop it. When you finished, Johnny sighed and took off his shades.

“And of course you came to me for help” he said with pride. “I am a love expert”

“Please!” You scoffed. “I just had no one else to go to. You're a last resort Cage-”. He put his finger against your lips to shush you.

“Shhh… it's okay. I'd ask myself for advice too if I were you- hey!” he pulled his finger back when you tried to bite him. “No biting the love expert”.

“Already regretting this” you mumbled. Johnny either didn't hear or didn't care. You had your bets on the latter.

“So you want Kitana? Now that's a woman! You're gonna have to be real smooth to earn her heart”. Those weren't really helpful words but you kept listening anyway. “Kitana seems like she'd love confidence. You can't be all small and scared. You gotta walk with confidence”. He pulled you up to your feet after he stood up. “Puff your chest out”.

“What?”. Johnny moved to your side and pushed on your back, making you slightly arch and your chest raise. “This feels ridiculous”. Johnny shook his head.

“Women love confidence. Kitana loves confidence. This gives the image of confidence. Now walk with confidence”.

Walk with confidence?

You started to walk how you usually did but Johnny stopped you immediately. “No! Walk with confidence!”

“What the hell does that even mean?”

“You gotta walk with long strides but a little slow. Like a model”

“You want me to walk slow?” You looked him up and down with distrust. “Why?”.

“It'll give her more time to look at you”. You felt stupid, but you did it again and again until Johnny was satisfied. It felt more like bootcamp than love help.

“Now here comes the confession part. The trick…” you leaned in in anticipation. “Don't”.

“Wha-”

“No questions without a raised hand”

“I'm gonna raise my hand and beat you with it”

“And I will prosecute you to the highest extent of the law”

“AnD i WiLl-”

“Do you want Kitana or not?”

“Of course I do!”. Johnny put his finger to his lip in a shushing motion. You sucked up your pride and stopped talking.

“Now, you don't wanna confess. None of that 'oh I love everything about you. I think you're so beautiful and intelligent’ nonsense. You approach her-”. Johnny put back on his shades, put his hands on his hips and got uncomfortably close. “Listen babe, you and I… we could be something. You're diggin’ me and I'm diggin’ you. This Saturday we got a date”.

“Shouldn't I ask instead of telling her to go on a date with me?”. Johnny shook his head at you.

“You do that and you don't seem confident! Remember confidence is the key!”.

This made no sense. So let's recap. Johnny wanted you to puff your chest like a peacock, walk like a model and tell Kitana that you two were going on a date instead of asking?

Maybe you should've just googled this.

“Um, okay… great talk Johnny” you patted his shoulder then walked towards the door before he could protest. “Great talk. Brilliant talk. Enjoyed it. I'll remember it!”. You closed the door behind you and sped walked to your car, leaving Johnny alone in his house.

Once you got in your car, you sighed. Well… that was something that happened. You pulled out your phone and went to the voice notes app.

“Note to self. Never ever ask Johnny Cage for love advice again”.

#mk1 #mk1 2023 #mortal kombat 1 #johnny cage #johnny cage mk1 #johnny cage x reader #Johnny cage fluff #mk1 fluff #mk1 johnny cage #mk fluff

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j0eyj0rdis0n · 1 year

Note

HEYYYYY i just wanted to say i love ur work <3 and secondly

i wanted to ask if you’ve seen the a24 movie pearl (2022)? cuz like i had a creepypasta request idea based of a pearl scene😭 it’s where toby gives fem-reader like stockholm syndrome and she becomes really clingy to him. And so one day he tells her that he’s gonna be right back and reader starts overthinking and assuming that he’s leaving her forever. AND THENNN she says the infamous pearl lines “NO! WHY ARE YOU LEAVING ME IF I DIDNT DO ANYTHING WRONG! I DONT UNDERSTAND I THOUGHT YOU LIKED ME!!!!”.

then they have a huge fight to which it turns into reader trying to hurt toby and toby just calming her down in anyway tehe :3

Hey love! I unfortunately haven't seen the movie as I'm not really one for movies at all, but I've certainly seen this clip circling on TikTok. It was super intriguing and it made me want to see it but I just haven't had the chance. For not seeing the movie I hope that this is at least somewhat accurate! Thank you for the ask!

Also I have some works ready for Kinktober! I only picked some of the prompts, I’ll start on day 6 so get ready!!

WHY ARE YOU LEAVING ME?! - "TICCI" TOBY

"Y/N I'll be back s-soon. Ma-asky has been in a s-shit mood 'bout this mission." Toby grumbled as he tied his boots.

"What..?" You looked up at him quickly from the dishes you were washing. "Why are you leaving me...?"

"Y/N, it's j-just for a m-mission." He sighed, realizing that this would be coming the longer he kept you here with him alone. "P-promise it won't be long."

The look of confusion and hurt on your face was evident. He hated it when you got upset like this. How was he supposed to explain any further that it was only a short mission? He felt like he couldn't ever explain anything to you. It was starting to get rather irritating too.

"You don't want to stay with me?" You questioned, your tone slowly growing angry. Your hands letting a plate clatter to the counter.

"Don't st-start with that. I told you! A sh-short mission!" His tone began to match yours, with a rough twang of anger. He tied his boots up with white knuckles before standing up and glaring at you.

"Don't leave me!!" You screamed, not bothering to wipe your wet hands off as you grabbed his wrist. "Why don't you love me?! I haven't done anything wrong!! Why do you keep leaving?!" Your voice grew hoarse as you screamed louder, practically begging for him to stay. "Toby please! Please don't leave!" You tried to pull his hand from the doorknob with tears streaming down your face.

"L-let go Y/N! I have t-to go!" He shouted back, ripping his arm from your grasp and throwing the door open.

"NO! NO! DON'T LEAVE ME!" You cried, watching him walk out in a huff.

You ran after him, kicking up dirt with each long stride. You grabbed onto his shirt, trying to drag him back inside. "Please Toby! Please I need you!"

He shrugged off your advances, continuing down the dirt road. If he wanted you for himself so badly then why was he leaving?! They had more than enough manpower to get missions done without him. You could barely survive without him! How dare he leave you like this! His pace didn't stop you from continuing your chase. Picking up a hatchet leaning against the picket fence you ran with rage in your eyes and anger in your heart.

"You're not leaving!!" You shouted, bringing the hatchet above your head, ready to swing at him.

He turned quickly, dodging your swing and wrestling the hatchet out of your small hands. "What on e-earth do you think y-you're doing?!" He shouted, throwing the hatchet far into the dirt as he got up in your face. "You're going to k-k-kill me for trying ta' leave? What the f-fuck is your problem!?" He took a moment to pause, staring you down with a look that could probably kill. "Get the f-fuck inside. Now."

When you didn't respond to his words, he grabbed your wrist with enough force to shatter it completely, dragging you towards the house. He threw you on the couch, pointing an accusing finger at you as he continued his yelling spree.

"I do all this for y-y-you! Be fuckin' grateful!"

It was only when he saw tears spring to your eyes that he went quiet. Yes he was upset you were making such a big deal out of one short mission, but he wasn't upset enough to make you cry from yelling at you. He let out a defeated sigh, taking a seat next to you on the old couch.

"S-sorry... I shouldn't have y-yelled... You gotta k-know missions aren't optional... I really gotta go Y/N..."

You sat defeated, tears streaming down your face. You hated it when he left, and no amount of reassurance made you feel better. Every time he left, you felt a piece of your heart break.

All you could do was nod, letting him stand without protest. Toby gave you a gentle kiss on the forehead before heading out the door once more.

#creepypasta #creepypasta headcannons #creepypasta requests #creepypasta hcs #ticci toby headcanons #ticci toby x reader #ticci toby creepypasta #ticci toby #toby rodgers #anon ask #asks open

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queenie-official · 7 months

Text

Chapter Eighteen: ‘A New Era’ Bridgerton!Au Anakin

previous chapter: 17

The Royal Heart series Masterlist

a/n: happy valentine’s day lovelies 🫶🏼 here’s a sweet treat from me to you 💋💋 (side note i have not proofread 👩‍🦯😭)

the following days passed a little too quickly for your liking. that’s not to say you’ve had a bad couple of days- on the contrary really. in fact you could even argue they’d been the best days you’ve spent happy consecutively in a while.

Anakin and you had been sticking together like glue. two souls locked in a fiery passion. the success of the ball had spurred you both on, and although Padme had expressed her concerns that the people will start to talk soon if they do not see signs of an heir to be- at the rate you were going the worries would cease in an instant. that would be one less worry on your list, or so you thought…

a certain royal advisor seemed pretty dead set on you and Anakin not having a moment alone together- it was easy to ignore at first, opting to just sneak off with each other to take care of your needs. but now, now it seemed as if Barclay was behind every door you opened. you can’t even tell if this is purposeful. at first you thought there was a chance he was working for Valorum or even still working for him whilst he was locked away. but you quickly realized he was sucking up to you way to much for that of a man to be trying to manipulate you, in all honesty the way he was acting was that of a man riddle with guilt. someone who wanted to atone for their transgressions, but even be was laying it on a bit thick.

you’re pulled from your thoughts as you feel Anakin begin to stir beside you, his arms loosening his grip around you as he moves his palms to rest on the fat of your hips. softly rubbing his thumb over the bare skin there, a silent greeting to what he may assume to be his still sleeping wife. little did he know you’d been awake the last hour, not wanting to move from his warm embrace before he woke up. only to then be swallowed by your own spiraling thoughts in your wait.

you turn to face him, eyes trailing over his bare chest before landing on his face. the sun cascading its warm glow that made him look borderline angelic, honestly you don’t think you could ever tire waking up to this. the way his lashes fluttered with every twitch of his eyes as he fought to stay asleep just a moment longer if his mind would will him too.

just as you begin to reach up to cradle his face you hear a knock on the door. couldn’t of been Eleanora, she would come till you rang for her. same with Rex and Braeden so that could only mean… Barclay

you couldn’t help the scowl that appeared on your face, practically holding your breath as you prayed he’d give up and walk away. then again Barclay always was the persistent type, he certainly didn’t give up and walk away when it came to trying to get you to went to marry in the first place. you honestly weren’t even mad at him for that anymore, after all if he hadn’t gone behind your back and done what he did with the council would you even be with the Man beside you. The very person who despite all odds felt as if he was connected to you from an invisible string. one that continuously pulled you back to him even when you pushed him away,

you can’t entirely credit the string for that after all Anakin stood his ground to be beside you after what came out in lady Whistledown’s papers no matter how hard you tried to evade him.

another wave of knocks sound from the door causing you to sigh, breathing out the air you’d been holding in. a small chuckle leaves Anakin’s mouth drawing your attention to him, he’d smiling. watching you pout in annoyance from Barclays incessant behavior. of course he’d find humor in this, any chance to tease you he would. at least you could count on Anakin for his consistency.

“good morning” he yawns out softly, moving one of his arms away from you to stretch. the blanket resting over top of you both sliding down his torso further in the process, his V line now exposed to the golden light of the sun.

“morning, though i’m not sure i’d say Good” you grumble and he snorts, a teasing grin settled onto his face. right as he’s about to make a retort another bunch of knocks come from the door. you groan, pulling yourself up onto your feet. the cold air causing your skin to prickle with goosebumps. quickly wrapping yourself in a robe before you open one of the doors.

just as you thought Barclay was stood with his hand raised caught right before he could knock again. “Can i help you with something Barclay?” you ask him with a passive aggressive tone to your voice. he gives you a more nervous unsure smile back.

“good morning you’re majesty-“ you huff at his greeting, cutting him off with a snide comment barely hidden under your breath. “highly debatable”

“sorry?” he asks a bit perplexed, unlikely he hadn’t heard you properly but you brush it off. waving him off, wordlessly telling him to go on. “right well, i’ve come to tell you there’s a bit of an emergency- you see with majority of the royal council now removed there’s been a bit of an uproar with the more upper class citizens.” you raise a brow, you weren’t entirely surprised. it was bound to happen eventually the positions need to be filled and a lot of the rich were definitely the types to fight and brag over whether or not they saw themselves fit for said spots.

you hum slightly in thought, “i don’t suppose this could wait until the king and i are dressed?” you ask rather sarcastically. watching as Barclay begins to stutter before he clears his throat and shakes his head. turning on his heel and muttering how he’d meet you both in the throne room when you were ready. what a glorious day this was starting out to be.

you massage one of your temples with you finger, trying to snuff the growing headache you had. you, Anakin, Barclay and the royal secretary Laurence had been going around in circles with who to fill the shoes of treasure and high Chancellor. you’d already chosen the new war marshall and admiral of the navy- they were easy to select. people who were already in the kingdoms army, people who were skilled but not violent and willing to cut corners just for a bloody victory. finding people like that was rare but easy to narrow down and in the end the choices were obvious.

Barclay and Laurence both where stuck on finding someone of sufficient status, you however didn’t care so much about the status. you just wanted someone with an actual level head to work alongside with. Anakin was for whatever you wanted but he also could see why the status mattered- not that it wasn’t clear to you. it was the same as it always was, to hire someone from the lower class over someone from upper class would be a scandal. talk about obdurate, perhaps it would be easier to ignore anger of upper class if not for whatever Lady Whistledown may write on the matter. ‘i’m never one for doing what’s easy over what’s right’ Padme’s words echoed in your head as you continued your line of thinking, if someone of lower class fit the position better then someone of status then it’d be worth fight for. Padme would certainly agree with you there.

you turn to look back at the three beside you, completely tuning out the discussion as you continue to think on this. you could only wish there where more men who thought the same way Padme did out there, you knew for a fact there were definitely women- wait, why were you only looking at men to fill these roles? sure it’s the traditional approach but if they were stuck on traditional approaches you wouldn’t have even been given the crown in the first place, it would have gone to the next closest male relative. no doubt Valorum was the reason it didn’t, he did think he’d manage to get away with manipulating you. now he was rotting in a cell and you where officially the head of Alderaan. the people may defy their queen but if the king was in agreement…

“Anakin” you spoke, sitting up straight as you watched three heads turn your way.

“what do you think about a new era?”

Tag list: @luvvfromme @gatekeepingirlboss @bimbo-baggins86 @iluvanakinskywalker @bby-imasociopath @curlycarley @burnthecheshirewitch @misscaller06 @sweetcheesecakesblog

AHHHH HI GUYYYS, I HOPE YOURE ALL HAVING A GOOD VALENTINE’S DAY 💋💋 this actually still took my quite a bit to get motivation to right 😅 but i really wanted to write a chapter for the holiday it seemed only right- anyway i’m not promising this means we’ll have a consistent upload schedule again buuttt i am going to try and do either a weekly or biweekly update for the series (please do not hold me accountable for this statement 🙏😔) I hope you all enjoyed tho 😋 love you huns Xx<3

#hayden christensen #anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin x reader #anakin imagine #anakin x you #anakin skywalker fanfiction #anakin fanfiction #anakin skywalker x reader fluff #anakin x reader fluff #bridgerton au!anakin x reader #bridgerton au!anakin #bridgerton au #queenie’s thoughts xx<3

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sugarandspisces-writes · 1 year

Note

for a possible suggestion/request: reader is being silly and teasing melissa, melissa gets playfully annoyed and threatens to "get" the reader; reader sees it as an empty threat because melissa would never hurt her and cheekily pushes her buttons further, which ultimately results in the reader losing a very one-sided tickle fight 😭❤️ (though perhaps still "winning" to the reader because 1) physical affection and 2) they got melissa to be silly with them too 🫠🫶🥹)

Speaking From the Heart Pt. II

Pairing: Melissa Schemmenti x reader

Summary: Melissa is trying to get some work done, and r just wants her attention

Word Count: 1.9k

A/N: Thank you for the request, nonnie. I hope I did your idea justice!

P.S. I'm just now realizing that I already wrote a physical touch headcanon. Oops. But this one is cute and fluffy and silly and I loved writing it. I hope you all enjoy reading it. Okie bye!! <3

Physical Touch

You were big on physical affection and luckily so was Melissa. It took some time for you to figure it out, but she was a huge softie. At any given moment, Melissa was likely to display her affection through touch. She was observant and enjoyed learning all the things that made you melt. At home, you loved when she would wrap her arms around you and place kisses on your neck. In public, she would be discreet with her actions, but she still made sure her adoration was evident. If you were walking side by side she would link your pinkies together. If you were in an unfamiliar place, she would place a hand on your lower back and guide you around. She always made you feel utterly safe and cared for, and while you appreciated the heartfelt gestures, you liked to have a little fun every now and again.

✦ ✦ ✦

The steady pitter-patter of rain held your attention as you sat on the couch. You watched the raindrops as they hit the window and made their descent to the ground. Sometimes one droplet became two, creating a large bead that would race down the pane faster than your eyes could keep up. The light rapping of precipitation on the roof was soothing and almost relaxing enough to make you fall asleep.

There was just one thing missing: Melissa. She was right there with you, sitting at the coffee table grading her students' worksheets. For some reason, though, it felt like she was miles away. Her back was facing you (maybe that had something to do with it), but you could almost picture what she looked like. Red reading glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose, eyebrows scrunched, and lips in a small pout as she deciphered messy handwriting. You watched as she tapped her pen on the stack of papers – something she did to help her think. She was deciding which encouraging note that student would receive.

“Oh, I know,” the redhead murmured once she figured it out. She was always attentive and deliberate with her feedback, firmly believing that her positive comments helped her students’ confidence.

God, she was so cute. You let out a sigh, becoming painfully aware of the space between you two. Maybe you could distract yourself for another thirty minutes. Her stack of papers seemed to be slimming down, and you were certain she’d be done soon. You picked up your phone, choosing to scroll through the messages you’d received. Seeing a Tik Tok from one of your friends, you clicked the link before remembering you’d sworn to a vow of silence. Melissa had been hesitant to let you keep her company, knowing she’d be running the risk of you interrupting her. You could only sit with her if you were going to be quiet because she’d lose focus otherwise.

She was already a week behind on grading, and you let out another sigh at that realization. Really, your only options were to sit there and watch the rain or to read your book (something you already grew tired of since you’d been doing it for the past hour). You truly just wanted Melissa’s attention at this point.

“Something wrong back there?” The woman asked as she scribbled dark ink onto stark white paper.

You startled at the sound of her voice piercing the quiet, “No, why?”

“You’re doing a lot of sighing,” she noted, not bothering to look back at you.

“I’m just bored.” You answered truthfully, a slight whine in your tone.

“I’m almost done,” she updated you before murmuring, “What the hell?”

You assumed that wasn’t directed toward you. She must have read a crazy answer on one of the worksheets. Her kids were known for writing down some wild things.

You decided to watch that Tik Tok after all. You came to the conclusion that it wouldn't bother her too much if the volume was low. However, as soon as the video began to play, the teacher noticed.

“Hon,” she said in a cautionary tone.

“Yes?”

“If you don’t turn that phone off, I’m gonna break it.” She huffed.

Any other time you’d feel the effects of her words, but that particular statement didn’t have her usual boldness. She wasn’t the best multitasker, unable to grade papers and be stern at the same time. She’d have to stop one thing to do the other and you knew that. So, you continued to play the video, turning the volume down lower in hopes that it would fix the issue. If she really wanted to stop you, she would.

“Y/N.” She whipped her head over her shoulder giving you a sharp glare.

“What?” you asked, a smile playing on your lips as your theory was proven to be correct.

She put her pen down and moved to face you. “Turn it off. I’m not kidding.”

“Okay, Mel.” You smiled sweetly, with the intention of not giving her any grief.

Then your finger slipped and you accidentally scrolled down to the next video. Your eyes widened and your mouth rounded in surprise. Unbeknownst to Melissa, you had meant to exit out of the app, but your phone seemed to take its own interpretation of your actions.

Melissa got up from the floor quicker than you expected her to, and before you knew it she was walking over to you. The same look from before took hold of her face, and you tried not to focus on how pretty she looked in her glasses. A smile planted itself on your lips as you admired her and that seemed to provoke the woman.

“Something funny?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“No,” you shook your head as she walked closer to you. “It’s just– that was an accident. I was trying to close the app.”

She’d made her way onto the couch, placing her legs on either side of your body and angling herself so she was leaning over you. Funny how a few minutes ago you were dying to be near her, but now you felt nervous under her gaze.

“Mhmm,” she nodded, “I bet you did.” Her hand reached out to snatch your phone.

You were quicker than her and swiftly moved your hand before she could catch you.

“Y/N, come on.” She tilted her head and reached out for the device again. “I don’t have time for games.”

“I’m not playing games.” You laughed. “If you want it, you’re gonna have to try a little harder.”

Moments later, you found yourself in a struggle trying to keep your phone safe. Once she realized where things were going, Melissa resorted to the only thing she knew would give her the upper hand.

“Melissa, I swear to God if you tickle me.” You gritted through heavy breathing.

She grinned at you before moving her hands down to grab at your sides.

“Melissa! Stop!” You tried to wriggle out of her grip, legs kicking and hands grabbing at her, but it was no use. She had you pinned down to the couch and you were too weakened by laughter to fight back.

“I’ll stop,” she paused when you looked at her with hopeful eyes, “if you apologize.”

“I-It was an acc–” you giggled and gasped through her attack. “An accide–”

She didn’t even give you the chance to finish what you were saying. If the words weren’t “I’m sorry”, then she didn’t want to hear them.

“Melissa!” Your eyes started well up with tears as you used your last bit of available breath to let out a laugh. “Stop, I can’t breathe!”

“Apologize,” she smiled, knowing that she was going to win this fight. Your phone was long gone, had dropped out of your grip once she laid her hands on you.

Your breathing troubles increased and the muscles in your stomach were burning, so you caved in. “Okay! O-okay! I’m s-sorry.”

After your confession, she stopped as promised. You were breathless with tears streaming down your face from laughing so much. Melissa was laughing nearly as much as you, and it was probably because you looked like a hot mess.

“That was so uncalled for.” You pouted as she loosened the grip her legs had on you.

“It was so called for,” she mocked. “You wouldn’t turn your damn phone off.”

“I tried!” You exclaimed. “Clearly my phone has a mind of its own.”

Melissa reached up to wipe your tears away. “You’re strong. I thought you were gonna fling me off of this couch.”

“I thought you were gonna let me die on this couch.” You looked at her with wide eyes.

She threw her head back in a cackle, “Don’t be so dramatic.”

“I couldn’t fucking breathe, Melissa!” You emphatically motioned to your lungs.

“Poor thing,” she cupped your chin with her fingers. “Maybe next time you’ll keep your phone off.” She moved to get off the couch, but you reached for her arm to stop her in her tracks.

“I think I deserve a few minutes of cuddling for my troubles.” You proposed the idea hoping she would give take pity and give in.

“Your troubles?” she looked at you quizzically. “I’m the one who has to spend the next hour grading.”

“Please,” you whined as she started to move off of the couch again. “Just for a few minutes.”

“No, because a few minutes always turns into a few hours.”

“Please, baby.” You gave her puppy dog eyes. “I’ll help you finish grading.”

At the sound of you calling her baby, her eyes softened and you knew you were about to win this debate. She may be the queen of coercion, but you were also pretty good.

“Fine,” she conceded, “but only for ten minutes.”

She laid back on the couch and held her arms out to welcome you. You happily took the invitation and snuggled up to her chest. You placed a kiss on her collarbone to show your thanks, a chuckle escaping your throat.

“What?” She asked, her fingers already making circles on your back to calm you.

“Nothin’.” You continued to laugh quietly.

“Tell me.” Melissa couldn’t help but join in on the laughter, finding it infectious.

“You’re such a softie.”

“No I’m not,” she grumbled.

“You are.” You looked up at her. Even though she disagreed with you, you could see the twinkle in her eyes.

“You sure you wanna talk to me like that? When my hands are this close to you?” She asked, alluding to the fact that she wasn’t afraid to start a tickle fight again.

“Hey, let’s not get crazy.” You eyed her cautiously.

“I’m not soft.” She scrunched her face in disapproval.

“Whatever you say, Lissa.” She was soft for you whether she admitted to it or not. “You know we're gonna be here for more than ten minutes, right?”

“Yeah, hon, I know,” she laughed. “If you wanted my attention you could have just asked.”

“Well, where’s the fun in that?” You winked at her. “Plus, you were busy.”

“I’m never too busy to cuddle.” She placed a kiss on the top of your head as you moved to rest on her shoulder. “I love being close to you.”

At that confession, you looked at her with raised eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, maybe I see what you’re saying.”

“You big softie.” You teased again.

“Stop it.” She poked your side. “Or I’m gonna get you.”

“It’s okay. I love you just the way you are.” You smiled, sealing the deal with a kiss.

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#melissa schemmenti #melissa schemmenti x reader #abbott elementary #sugarᥫ᭡writes

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